Survival, Science, and Psychology: Into the World
by Protoxone
Summary: To be faced with adversity is to choose between being overwhelmed and overcoming that which blocks your way. To be faced with reality is to choose between ignorance and understanding. To face thyself is to deny growth or gain what you lack. These are hurdles all sentient beings face many times in life. There are only two paths to failure. There are many to success.
1. Chapter 1

**There's an unfinished prologue to this I have written. It is currently unfinished and will likely get a brief summary as a last chapter if you don't want to read near 100,000 words of character development and a little world building.**

 **Chapter 1: One Step Towards Freedom**

" _Rage is a tool to use, not something to be consumed by. Unrefined and unfocused anger is more often a hindrance than a boon." - Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

Naruto boiled in anger.

Over the years that he had known Itachi, Shisui - even Izumi to an extent - he had accepted that he'd grown attached to them. Despite his acceptance that he had formed bonds with them, he hadn't thought that one of their deaths would affect him much. He had thought that he could deal with their deaths or discard any grief that could potentially form.

He had been wrong. Oh so terribly wrong.

He watched as Shisui, bloodied, broken, and missing an eye, said his last words to Itachi. He couldn't make out exactly what they said, but lip reading gave him enough to put the pieces together.

" _...trust you'll make the decision that is necessary," Shisui stopped and coughed up some blood before giving a bloody smile. "Tell Naruto I'm sorry we didn't trust him enough to involve him, but it was necessary. I'm sure he'll understand."_

 _Silence ensued a few moments as Itachi shook in grief. Then Shisui put a hand on his shoulder to give some comfort before he uttered his final words, "Hard times are coming and you'll need more power than your current Sharingan can give you."_

 _Itachi seemed to understand his meaning. The teen shook even more fiercely as despair took hold of Itachi's face for the first time in years. Consumed with anger as he was, Naruto was barely of a mind to remember that token of information._

 _Then, finally, Shisui raised his hand to his remaining eye and plucked it from his head, almost as if he could no longer feel anything. He handed it to Itachi, "Take care of it."_

 _With a final smile, Itachi slowly lifted his shaking hand and pushed Shisui off the cliff and into the river below._

 _Then, for the first time, Naruto saw Itachi let a tear drip down his face. Naruto failed to take note of his own tear._

The blond didn't stay any longer, too consumed with anger and confusion to stay hidden. Shisui had been talking as if there was definitively another level of the Sharingan beyond the three tomoe'd state. He had heard legends along those lines before, but only obscure references. Nothing reliable.

Shinobi were both terrible at documenting history and didn't like to keep records of their trump cards unless they had some serious security protecting it. Therefore, techniques so powerful, especially those whose village they hail from tended to be locked away and lost to general history save for an obscure reference.

But that wasn't his concern at the moment. He could research such things later. At the moment he had some anger to burn.

He had known the Uchiha were planning something with the political maneuvering that had been happening and the way Shisui and Itachi were acting. He also knew that Danzo, paranoid bastard that he was, had been intent on having them eliminated. He had a pretty good idea of how that man thought after looking up the more public history of his past exploits, and he knew that while the war hawk saw them as an asset, the old man knew he couldn't keep the Uchiha on a short enough leash.

Thus, he saw them as a threat to be eliminated. It seemed very similar to the situation Uzushiogakure faced before their demise.

That man would die by his hands.

Luckily, he retained enough rational thought to realize he was nowhere near the strength required to be able to take on that man. Old as he may be, the man was still dangerous. That also didn't take into account the fact that he had his own personal army of unknown size and skill.

So his death wasn't an option at the moment.

That left him with precious few options to let out his anger.

Naruto settled himself into the meditation pose he had become so familiar with over the past few years. He had to calm down. Come up with a reasonable outlet to his aggression.

He let out a few breaths, blanked his mind for a minute and then came back to himself. Shisui had taken it upon himself - whether by orders or his own will - to try to sort out the Uchiha situation in a peaceful manner. Naruto had no idea how he planned to do this, but he wouldn't have acted if he hadn't had a solid plan with a good chance of success. Judging by his injuries, someone - Danzo most likely - didn't want a peaceful solution and had chased him away, fatally wounding the teen in the process.

At the thought of Shisui's death and his murderer, he felt rage boil up in him again. He pushed it aside, soothing himself with the knowledge that he would use that rage soon enough. Someway, somehow he would find an outlet for his fury

Now. Itachi had been with Shisui in his final moments. Judging by his wounds, Shisui had to have been in battle not minutes before that. While odd, it was possible they had planned a meeting after Shisui had done his thing. Regardless, Shisui had mentioned leaving a decision to Itachi. If he was reading the context and political climate right he could guess that the Uchiha would not be living for much longer. Whether by Itachi's hand or someone else in the village was the only thing left to be decided.

Itachi may have loved his family dearly, but he loved the village, and the tentative peace in the world, more. Enough to sacrifice most, if not all of his family. If he looked at it with the cold, detached view that he and Naruto normally did, he would see the consequences of the Uchiha attempting a coup d'état.

Civil war in the leaf, opportunistic enemy villages coming to take advantage of the chaos, massive loss of life, and great shifts in power. A Fourth Shinobi War.

Naruto himself was indifferent or even leaned toward starting that war to weed out weaklings, but Itachi valued peace. He would no doubt do whatever was necessary to stop that from happening. And the only way to do that would be to eliminate the Uchiha clan before they became a problem.

It would significantly weaken Konoha, but it was far less likely to start a war.

Coming to this _conclusion,_ Naruto felt anger and despair grip him at once. He didn't want one of the few he cared for in this world put through such agony. Not after losing one of those few already. Especially if there was anything he could do to prevent it.

A grim smile graced Naruto's face, laced with hatred and dark humor, ' _It seems you'll escape from the bad luck of your name this time, Itachi.'_

He would kill the Uchiha before Itachi got the chance and take the fall for him. Naruto may have cared for a few people here, but Konoha was everything to Itachi. Besides, long term his goal had been to escape from Konoha. This just accelerated his plan to leave the village by several years and painted a larger target on his back than he had anticipated. Still, it was nothing he wasn't willing risk for Itachi.

Unfortunately, loathe as he was to admit it, he was not strong enough to take out the Uchiha himself. If he had a couple of weeks to set traps and prepare, then _maybe_ he stood a chance, but as it stood, he needed help. And there was only one person he could think of that could or even would consider helping him with this endeavor.

Sakumo certainly wouldn't like it but he would probably go along with his plan. The man was an advocate of saving comrades whenever possible.

* * *

Sakumo gave him a baleful stare. "You want me to do what now?"

Naruto gave the man his best impression of sounding innocent, "I want you to set up those seals in the secret meeting place of the Uchiha. The Naka Shrine, I think."

Sakumo deadpanned, "You expect me to set up lethal traps for the Uchiha?"

Naruto gave him a look that was almost innocent, "Of course I do. Won't you help me with this one thing? I've been a dutiful student to you, haven't I?"

Sakumo twitched at his words. Perhaps it had been better when the boy before him was a complete loner. At least then he didn't get any crazy ideas about murdering an entire clan and saying it with such a ill suited face for his request.

He knew that the Uchiha had become a problem recently, but for Naruto to ask this? The crazy blonde normally wouldn't much care for the politics like this aside from using them as a distraction to cover his own schemes. The fact that the boy had resorted to genocide must mean that something had really set him off.

He could think of a few reasons. Among them was that an Uchiha had found him training and escaped. Unlikely - and an extreme overreaction on Naruto's part - but possible. More likely, they had done something to piss him off a lot. As in, more than he had ever seen the blonde before. Quite the feat since Naruto almost always held a simmering rage directed at Konoha.

He frowned beneath his mask. Despite Naruto's general dislike of people, he was typically fairly tolerant of others. If he retaliated, it was usually only with a mildly vicious prank. For him to straight up plan a mass murder like this...

Were one of the Uchiha that Naruto liked harmed? Killed perhaps?

He would have to do some investigation before deciding to help the blonde. He would keep an open mind to it even if this was extreme. for now he had an irate student to deal with.

"Well, I suppose I could, but it might take me awhile. How does 4 hours from now sound?"

Naruto scowled at him, dropping the innocent facade that didn't fit him at all. "Fine, but if you bail let me know," he nearly spat.

With that, Naruto stormed off to prepare for the fight ahead and his escape. He needed to gather supplies for his time after leaving Konoha. It would be all too easy to follow his trail if he stopped for supplies in a town too soon. Aside from that, he needed to pack some storage scrolls. He had some decisions to make on what to bring with him.

After all, he still needed to keep improving himself. Being on the run with a bounty on his head shouldn't change that. He was nowhere near the level he wanted to be when he left. Now he needed to get stronger as fast as possible. He would not have Konoha's protection in a few hours, and there were bound to be people out of his league after him even in the unlikely event he didn't get a bingo book entry right away.

The experience outside the protection of the Leaf and Itachi would be a boon, but more dangerous than anything he'd faced before.

Unbidden, an eager half smile graced his lips at the thought of the challenge and fight for survival ahead. That was for later. Now he needed to focus on his extermination of the Uchiha.

He would need to be as discreet as possible for as long as possible. As confident as he was in his combat abilities, it would be unwise to cause a ruckus and bring all of the Uchiha and Konoha down on his head.

So while Sakumo took his sweet time preparing, he needed to prepare some large and small scale sound barriers. Stealth and assassination were some of his more honed skills, but it never hurt to be cautious. Plus, he was sure to have some trouble with the more experienced Uchiha despite his traps.

* * *

Naruto looked to the sky as the sun colored the sky with oranges and yellows. It was time to move on the Uchiha. He'd given Sakumo an extra hour just in case and double checked his short-term concealment seals, meticulously placed on the compound and all its houses.

He had five teams of two clones to complete this faster. He needed to finish this as fast as possible with as few - preferably none - noticing what was happening until he had finished them all off.

He would leave a clone as a lookout for any stragglers at the gate, but the Uchiha were confined to Konoha for the most part. Only a few were permitted to leave the police force outside of Genin. There were perhaps three outside of Itachi - and formerly Shisui - on that list. Itachi had left earlier after a short confrontation with other clan members and he had seen the other three.

Steeling himself for what would almost certainly drive he and Itachi apart, he descended into the first house.

The window to a bedroom was open to let in the fleeting warmth of autumn. How ironic that it would now let in the cold chill of death.

* * *

Kagome was a happy girl. At seven years old, she had all that she could ever want. Her parents loved her a whole bunch and the clan was always so welcoming and friendly. She had all the toys she could want and was set to enter the Academy in a year or so.

She had made some friends outside the clan with some other girls she met in the park. All the people outside the village seemed really nice. They would smile at them as they walked passed and answer any questions she had. Her parents seemed to be a little more distrustful of them for some reason, but it was probably just adult stuff.

If she worked hard and took her first step to being a real Uchiha by learning that fireball jutsu maybe they would tell her why they acted like that. Her parents had just started teaching her the first steps to her right of passage. She thought she was making pretty good progress on it. She would be able to breathe fire soon, she could feel it!

Tonight was a fairly normal affair for her family. Outside of hearing that Shisui-san wasn't alive anymore, there hadn't been anything outstanding. It was a little scary that Shisui-san couldn't be around anymore, but this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Such was the life of a shinobi. Those with less fortune or skill would lose. It was a lesson she had been told many times.

But for now she didn't have a care in the world. She was having dinner with her parents, and they were having her favorite: rice with miso soup.

There was also a side of pickled vegetables. Those weren't very good, so she discreetly moved them to the side of the plate to brush onto the floor. Before she could succeed in her plot, Kagome's mother gave her The Look.

The dreaded Look was one all adults seemed to know and give whenever kids were doing something they weren't supposed to. She didn't get how they could always catch her, but she put it down to being a shinobi.

Kagome pouted, but reluctantly picked one up to eat it. She took a hesitant bite out of it and swallowed her distaste of the food and nibbled on it. She was about to put it down to continue eating her miso soup when she saw a shadowy figure behind her parents.

Eyes widening, she watched as the figure drew a line across their throats with kunai. She opened her mouth to scream in terror and fright and for help…

But no sound ever escaped her lips as her world went black.

* * *

It had been half an hour since he had started his hunt of the Uchiha and this was the final house before he moved on to the Naka Shrine to kill the last of them.

Naruto glanced down at the bodies before him. That had been sloppy. The girl had almost gotten the chance to scream. She wouldn't have been heard even if she had screamed, but it was unacceptable. He had tired himself out, that was the only explanation. He hadn't been expecting to do this and had gotten little sleep over the past few days, busy as he was studying and experimenting with Fuinjutsu.

Little sleep normally wouldn't be a problem, even if he had worked hard. He had gotten used to pulling consecutive all nighters, and he could go without sleep for nearly a week if he needed to. But he preferred to get at least 3 to 4 hours of sleep per day. In addition to his sleep deprivation, he had been stressed and angered, even in grief over how he would be forced to hurt and leave the only one who understood him.

But his assassination skills, exhaustion, and foreign emotions aside, he needed to harvest their eyes. It wouldn't be good if someone were to dig them all up. The Uchiha eyes had few weaknesses and were a dangerous tool even in the hands of a second rate shinobi.

Besides, he had wanted to look at the biology of the Uchiha eyes for a while. He wanted to see exactly what made them different. He merely hadn't been able to get any for study.

Kneeling over the father, he plucked the man's eyes out and put them in a specially crafted seal for storing fragile organic material. It was a temporary solution, but he didn't have the time to create a solution for storing the eyes long term without any damage.

Shuffling over to the mother, he reached down to take her eyes, but stopped halfway. She was still breathing. Through the hole in her neck granted, but breathing all the same. He could see the fear in her eyes, the hate. She wouldn't live much longer. Still, he had heard enough cases of a victim of a slit throat surviving to make absolutely certain she stayed dead.

But first, her eyes. They gleamed in the low light as she glared. That look of hate wouldn't be possible soon. "You know," the blond nearly whispered as if speaking about the weather or sport, "I didn't plan on doing this. I only decided to slaughter you all today."

The nameless woman glared all the more. She thought he had done this on some sick whim. True he had started doing things on a whim merely because he thought they'd be interesting, but never anything that could lead to exposing himself. All the same, he felt the need to speak. To assure this woman that he would kill the man truly responsible for forcing the Uchiha into seclusion, and eventually extermination by his hand. If for no other reason than the fact that Itachi had almost certainly cared for this woman.

Naruto continued, "I almost empathize with you, despite what your clan tried to do to me those years ago. You're ostracized by many shinobi because they fear and are suspicious of you, just like I am with the civilians and some younger shinobi."

The woman continued to glare, though now a hint of confusion colored her scarlet eyes.

"I didn't want to leave Konoha yet, I'm not ready to have a high bounty on my head. But that no longer matters. Danzo was forcing Itachi into killing you all."

Now the woman's eyes, dancing between life and death, gained a hint of clarity and understanding. The hate was still there. Now it was merely split between him and Danzo.

"I am not nearly skilled enough to kill Danzo as I am. I will kill him one day, but not today. Today, I will save my best friend the pain and guilt of having to kill this family that he cares so much for," Naruto reached down and caressed the woman's face. Almost a gesture of affection.

The woman now showed renewed confusion and life had nearly left her.

He slid his hand across the soft, pale skin that all Uchiha seemed to possess until his fingers hovered over her eye. Fear once again showed strongly in her eyes as Naruto spoke the last words she would ever hear, "Of course, I will make sure no one else benefits from harvesting these beautiful scarlet eyes. There is still much I'd like to learn about them after all."

With those words, Naruto plunged his fingers into her eye socket and quickly, yet carefully ripped her eye out. The woman's body spasmed in pain and tried to scream, but with her throat slit, she could only wheeze, air and blood being expelled through the unnatural hole.

Naruto could see tears form in her remaining eye as she finally resigned herself to her fate. Life bled away from the previously expressive eye and Naruto plucked this one from her head as well before standing back up as the woman's chest stopped moving. Her heart no longer pumping blood to desperately try to seal the unnatural, gaping hole in her throat.

Perhaps Itachi and Sakumo were onto something when they said he could be disturbingly sadistic. He had felt such a rush leading the woman on with a sad story and then suddenly flooding her with pain in her final moments. He might want to try to control that in the future or at least direct it in a more precise manner.

Naruto glanced at the child as he moved to the small body. He still needed to stow her body somewhere. Out of respect for Itachi and - grudgingly - the combat capability of the clan, he had taken pains to ensure children younger than 10 or so survived. He bound the girl lightly and moved her to a closet, and then sealing her parents' corpses, Naruto moved to the window.

He would dispose of all the Uchiha's he slaughtered later in a mass cremation. The bodies left genetic material. Far more than enough for even a novice geneticist to make many mistakes before being able to successfully clone or embed a person with the Sharingan. That was discounting the simple solution of taking sperm and/or eggs from the corpses. He did not want more Uchiha running around beyond those he spared. Itachi would raise them well. He could not, however, allow them to come back in any other form as puppets to serve some master so easily. He had that much respect for the Uchiha.

However, if there was someone smart and crazy enough to go through the time consuming process of bringing them back with what little would be left to work with, then they deserved it.

He didn't need to ponder this anymore though. It was time to go to the Naka Shrine. Slipping out of the house as silently as he had entered, he took to the main path to the Naka Shrine.

Unfortunately, as he turned to go onto the main path, he got a nasty surprise.

"Naruto?"

He held the teen's gaze for a moment before responding, "Izumi… you shouldn't be here,"

She shouldn't have. He had checked. She had been assigned to a brief sweep outside the walls of Konoha. She shouldn't have been back for another hour at least. He had planned it so he wouldn't have to deal with her. Izumi was one of the few Uchiha he didn't dislike, even if she was annoying at times. He didn't want to leave Itachi entirely alone to raise a bunch of kids if he did in fact take to such a roll.

He was going to leave Itachi a true brother in Sasuke and a friend/sister/girlfriend in Izumi.

It looked like he was going to have to do this the hard way. There was no way in hell Izumi would listen to him. Despite his acquaintance and even tentative friendship with Izumi, she would pick reporting him 10 times out of 10 when she found out her clan was dead.

Izumi spoke again. She always was a little slow for his tastes, but it just might've been he and Itachi being able to process a situation far more quickly. "I shouldn't be here? I think that's what I should be saying to you," her hand drifted to the tanto behind her back. Good, she was learning to be cautious. Unfortunately, it was too late for her to finally gain that suspicion. "What are you doing in the Uchiha compound? And why is it so much quieter than normal?"

Naruto contemplated this for a moment before he spoke "You should know the answer to that," the blonde launched himself at her, drawing his own tanto and kunai. They clashed swords, sparks flying. She jumped back as his kunai came up to take a strike at her side.

She looked betrayed. "Why!" she screamed. Was she trying to attract attention? A good thought, but she should've known he would take precautions to prevent that from happening.

He flew forward again, stabbing at her gut. She deflected to the right and tried to lash out again. He just slid under her blade, using his shorter height to his advantage. She made the same mistake the few times they had sparred.

He drove his kunai towards her side, and she leapt to the side to avoid it, only getting a grazed side. Izumi grimaced in pain, but she yelled again and charged to try to turn the tables, "Answer me!"

They exchanged a flurry of strikes, but he quickly came out the better, only gaining a single scratch. It seemed she wanted to keep this a close combat fight, trying to rely on her body's further development to win. That was fine. A flashy Ninjutsu battle would be far more likely to be taken note of than some sparks hidden by buildings. Besides, he was superior in close combat.

He decided to answer her before he knocked her out, "I do this because I want to. Because I need to. You don't need to know more than that."

She seethed in anger, "Always with that condescending tone! I know I'm not as good as you and Shisui and Itachi, but don't treat me like a child!"

And checkmate. Her anger had blinded her. His clone took the cue and jumped to stab her in the back. She turned and barely managed to deflect the blade, but that left her open to attack. Naruto slammed the butt of his blade to her head, harder than strictly necessary. The blood coloring her hair attested to that.

Her eyes widened in pain and disbelief. Naruto slid his blade out as he gave Izumi the indifferent look he always held.

Izumi was in internal conflict. She had been a fool to engage Naruto alone. She had been so consumed by the pain of knowing her family had been exterminated, she hadn't thought. She had known he hadn't shown her all his skills, especially if he had done as he'd claimed. Still, even knowing that, she had given into tunnel vision, not even considering another opponent, even a clone.

As she fell to the cold, unforgiving ground, she looked at Naruto for any regret or guilt or anything really.

She barely saw a flicker of emotion. Before she blacked out, she saw something that at least made him a little more human. A tear glistened at the corner of his eye, the one usually kept covered. Then her world went black.

* * *

Naruto rubbed his eyes as he watched Izumi take her final breath. This would be troublesome. Izumi was a trained ninja, she would not be down for long and restraining her sufficiently would take a while. He didn't want a clone to tie her up just in case she awoke and got the jump on it. Unfortunately, he didn't have much of a choice. Every second he spent here was a second less he had to gain distance on his future persuers.

The blond let out a long suffering sigh. Why couldn't she have just been out of the compound for another day. It would've made his life much less stressful. Whatever, he had no more time to waste. Now it was time to kill the rest of the Uchiha.

As he entered the Naka Shrine, Naruto set up a few trap seals around what he found to be the secret entrance to the Uchiha's meeting place. They included, but were not limited to, the most potent acid he could make, gasoline that would then be lit by a brief burst of fire, and shards of glass propelled by a burst of wind.

He knew there would be a few capable enough to escape the traps Sakumo had set at least relatively unharmed, so hopefully they would panic and head to the exit. The poison gas he had set up was particularly potent in addition to being nearly odorless and colorless. He had set glass dust to be released a minute after, but it could be changed if they figured it out faster. It would make any breath painful rather quickly. Of course it would also likely scratch up or blind a majority of them.

He might've tried to bring the whole thing down in one big explosion, but he wanted to preserve his stealth. Besides, the Uchiha were notorious for their stubborn resistance to just dying. Especially by flames. Plus, he wanted to see exactly what the Uchiha were hiding in their secret meeting place. There were a number of rumors he had heard about it from a variety of sources of varying credibility. All were intriguing possibilities. There were rumors anywhere from the mundane and predictable, such as scrolls of nearly every technique in the world, to the extravagant of a portal to the Demon World or an artifact to speak to the Gods.

He would soon find out. With a smirk, he held his hand into the ram symbol to release the seals linked to him. "Kai."

There was silence for a minute before he sensed chakra signatures scrambling for the exit. Well at least they had put up a rudimentary defence against eavesdroppers.

The entrance flew open and three Uchiha attempted to scramble out at the same time. They didn't notice him release the acid until they were hit with it and fell back into the secret room screaming.

He created a clone at the same time to jump down and try to get in some kills in the confusion as well as create panic to force them through the only opening left. A stalemate where they stayed down there would work in his favor, but he didn't want to wait. Some ninja were unnervingly good at resisting poison.

As he had this thought, some insane Uchiha launched himself straight through the opening and at him.

His eyes widened as he drew his tanto to fend off the attacker's taijutsu assault. His opponent wasn't deterred and pressed on with no regard to his own health. This recklessness cost the man an arm, and he hissed in pain, but continued on. The man threw his body into the blonde's and consequently smashed him into a wall.

Naruto let out a grunt. Did this man have no regard for his own life? Uchiha were supposed to be a prideful bunch, not suicidal.

Then he got a chance to look at he man as he got up from the wall. Uchiha Fugaku. He was in bad shape. Apart from the severed arm, his eyes were bleeding and his breath was deeply labored, blood leaking from his lips. No doubt the man had inhaled some of his toxin and been hit by his glass dust. The patriarch must have been distracted if he hadn't noticed soon enough to prevent most of the damage. Now that the damage was done perhaps he realized he was going to die and in a last bid to save some of his clansmen had decided to sacrifice himself. He was a man to respect, deserving of his title as clan head.

Still, in that state, it would be difficult for him to injure his enemy.

Their eyes met and despite the man's damaged eyes, he recognized the blonde in front of him. He was the reason that they had been put under suspicion, the reason they had become outcasts in their own village.

Oh how ironic it would be that he was also the one to finish them. Fugaku had assumed the boy was even more talented than he let on, but to be capable of this level of espionage... This kind of destruction, it was incredible.

Still, he refused to yield before this boy. He would save what was left of his clan. He threw himself into his attack with new vigor, launching himself at the boy with speed many ninja the blonde's senior would be unable to react to properly after being smashed into a wall. Naruto rolled to the right at the last second and tried to drive his blade into the Uchiha Patriarch's chest. The man slipped around the blade and attempted a roundhouse kick that clipped his assailant's side.

Jumping back, he started to run through a series of hand seals to turn the boy ashes, " _ **Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu."**_

The temperature in the room quickly rose, the few plants around withering or spontaneously combusting. Fugaku coughed violently as the stream of fire feeding his jutsu petered to a sudden stop. ' _The poison this brat somehow got in here is such a vicious thing to damage my bodily systems so quickly. Not to mention that damn glass.'_

Regardless, his fireball should at least give the brat some first degree burns. Time seemed to slow as he watched the fireball approach the blasphemer that would dare harm his clan.

And then his confidence turned to surprise and rage as he watched a scroll slip out of his sleeve. He knew what was happening even before the words left the brat's mouth. The question was, how the hell did that kid know enough Fuinjutsu to successfully perform a _**Fuka Hoin Fuin**_. And presumably make one. He had gained some respect among the shinobi forces since he became a Genin, but no one would gift him a fire sealing scroll.

Either the boy had a private tutor that no one knew about or he was simply so prodigious in the sealing arts that he had been able to make do with the limited knowledge of Fuinjutsu available to Genin. The boy's reputation pinned him as ruthlessly efficient, cautious, and an obsessive perfectionist. With traits like those, it was very possible he had been able to pick up Fuinjutsu on his own. Uzumaki Naruto, he may almost be on par with Itachi had they been the same age.

Then, in horror, Fugaku truly processed the name of this child for the first time. Uzumaki… No. They had been wiped out. Kushina had been the last of them. The Sandaime had named him that in honor of the clan that Konoha had been allied with from beginning to its destruction.

Fugaku shook his head. What blood he had in him didn't matter. What did was that he now knew the boy was skilled in Fuinjutsu. Now he could take that into account when fighting him. He followed behind his fire, using it as cover and struck out with his fist when it was almost all sucked into the scroll.

He saw the flicker of surprise in one cold blue eye - and a Sharingan where the boy had been blinded! - before the boy raised his arm to deflect his fist. The boy was definitely good, but this showed he lacked experience. Fugaku flipped a kunai in his sleeve to his deflected hand and flicked it towards the boy's hand that still held the scroll.

The blonde proved he had damn good reflexes as he dropped to the ground and spun on his hand to attempt a kick while he was still midair. That wouldn't be nearly enough to catch a shinobi of his caliber. He caught the foot as he looked to the boy's forearms, the sleeves of his shirt had been burnt off, but his skin only suffered minor burns. Impressive considering how hot his flames were. Then he felt a cut on the arm he had caught the kick in and he let go, jumping back.

Squinting, he could now see a small blade that he could've sworn hadn't been on the end of the boys boots before. A retractable blade then. Uncommon, but not something he hadn't come up against before.

Then the numbness in his arm disappeared completely and he could no longer feel it. More poison? That… was not good. The poison gas from before had nearly been enough to knock him out, if not outright kill him within a few minutes. If that was any indication of the poisons the boy had in his possession, then this would certainly be unpleasant. He had already been fighting at far below 100%, but now he had lost the use of one of his arms in addition to that. The darkness on the edge of his vision got a little more noticeable and a lot harder to ignore.

"I'm impressed with your fortitude, Uchiha-san, but I'm afraid you're working on a very short time limit. That toxin-"

He didn't let the boy get any farther than that. He knew he was on a time limit. Darkness seemed to creep into his vision more every second. He wouldn't be put out by such a simple tactic as stalling for poison to run its course more quickly. He was upon the boy in a fraction of a second. He tried to put his fist where the boy's head was, but the Jinchuuriki dodged, grabbing hold of his arm and about to flip over him.

The Uchiha flipped over and attempted to crush the boy under his body. Unfortunately, the blonde had enough sense to push off his arm and back off. Fugaku pushed himself off the floor in the same motion with a single armed side hand spring.

Fugaku was about to move in again, but had to stop short because of a coughing fit. He covered his mouth in an attempt to halt it, but didn't have the luxury of time to spend on his current ailments as he had to dodge a hail of kunai.

He nearly stumbled to the side on his dodge. This poison was incredibly potent. He wouldn't be conscious for much longer, maybe another minute.

It seemed the moment of weakness didn't give his opponent the confidence to attack. That simultaneously annoyed and impressed him. It seemed the boy was cautious of him even when he was in such terrible condition. It stroked his pride even in this dire situation. Regardless, that meant he was forced to expend more energy on the attack.

He and the boy only let the fight lull for a moment before they were both on the move again, he was jumping to the side as he sped through a set of hand seals for a rather nasty technique. It would probably be his last and either kill him or put him nearly out of the fight, but right now he was desperate. He could see no other way of winning than this. The few other survivors needed immediate medical attention and he was one of the only ones among them able to stand, let alone fight.

It was unfortunate that for all the knowledge the Uchiha had accumulated over the years, none of them had taken the time to become extremely knowledge in the field of poisons. Certainly none of them could come up with a cure for such a powerful poison on the fly. Some of them possessed them enough fortitude and knowledge to delay it, but not to stop or slow it down meaningfully.

This was his last stand, but at least the others would likely survive. He released the best technique he could manage in his state that wouldn't harm his clansmen, ' _ **Raiton: Raging Raven.'**_

Lightning poured from his body and coalesced into a multitude ravens, surrounding Naruto. They made a motion as to shriek, though only the sound of electricity intensifying signaled any change. They converged on the blonde, coming from all sides. There was no escape now.

* * *

Naruto had almost been entertained enough by his fight with Fugaku to forget that he was going to have to leave Itachi here. Nothing would have done that now. But it was still an exhilarating experience. He'd never been in a fight to the death with someone so skilled. It was exhilarating.

It put something of a dampen on his excitement that he needed to handicap his opponent in such a way to match the man, but that was something that had to be taken into account in every fight. Just because the opponent landed the first hit didn't mean it was unfair.

Regardless, Fugaku was a fantastic opponent, his fire was hot enough to give him light burns even when he was sealing it. He would come up with a work around for opponents with similarly hot fire later. For now Fugaku was on his last legs. This was when people were at their most dangerous. He was sure to have something very difficult to counter. He stared down Fugaku for a moment that seemed to stretch on for minutes. They both knew, this was his last stand. He watched as Fugaku flashed through hand signs.

He didn't recognize the seal sequence, but that didn't matter as long as he could recognize the purpose of it. He saw the sequence to shape it, but the shape wouldn't matter in this case. The important part was the sequence to split into different areas and the chakra locking part. That would be difficult to deal with.

He didn't know any Jutsu that would allow a defensive formation from all sides at once and he also couldn't tank something of that caliber. The only viable defensive methods he had were Wind and Earth Walls. Those were designed to defend against an attack from one direction.

Fugaku sped through a few more as Naruto's mind worked through dozens of scenarios to keep himself safe. He had to make a decision now. Those were seals indicative of a lightning jutsu. Earth walls weren't a great option in that case. Wind walls it was then.

He sped through the few hand seals required for it and erected a wind wall at his back, coming at an angle to cover his head. That was the most vulnerable spot when he had his hands free. With electricity that wouldn't matter much, but it was still the most likely place attacks would come from. Then the crackle of lightning and the sting of ozone hitting his nose signaled Fugaku's final stand. The ravens seemed to screech and then they were upon him.

Being struck with so much electricity was not a pleasant experience at the best of times. He had some tolerance due to his insane teacher and his own extreme methods. But even with that experience, this was particularly excruciating. He could feel his wind wall faltering even with the massive amount of chakra he had pumped into it.

Then he felt it collapse and the world went white as he let loose a wall of all consuming agony, "Arghhh! Damn it!"

Then after what felt like an hour, it let up and he was left breathing heavily, but still standing. He muttered all the expletives he knew under his breath at the Uchiha who had done this. Considering he had thrived in the less scrupulous parts of Konoha all his life, it was quite an extensive vocabulary. Especially considering some had taken to swearing in other languages.

Still, Naruto was in far better shape than his opponent. Fugaku was kneeling on the ground, looking like he was fighting just to keep himself from falling to one side. He was hanging on by a thread. Naruto dragged a foot forward, his smoking body and burnt clothes making him look like Death itself had decided to make a brief appearance.

The soft thud of his foot on the ground followed by another got a reaction out of the fallen Uchiha leader. His unfocused eyes locked onto his and gave a glare. He could barely muster the strength to kneel, let alone keep unconsciousness at bay. But with his glare, there was a sense of defeat.

As Naruto finally came within a few steps of him, Fugaku had one final, bitter thought, ' _I have failed.'_

And then he knew no more as his head was removed from his body in a clean swipe.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. That could've ended poorly. Now he needed to see to it that the rest of the Uchiha were dead.

And find out what they were hiding of course. With a puff of smoke, he created a clone to check how well his previous clone had done in exterminating the last of the Uchiha and check for any potential traps. He assumed it had gone well since he hadn't received any memories yet.

He sat down and took a breath to recover from his strenuous battle and see if anything had gone amiss. He focused on steadying his breath as he extended his senses beyond the now empty compound. His senses extended over the Uchiha's wall and he sensed the first chakra signatures. Few were above civilian level and none seemed to be in a hurry. All the same, he should hurry this operation of his along.

Focusing on the roads leading to the compound, he checked for anyone who could potentially notice something off. There were a few traveling the paths, but only three seemed to be heading towards the compound. He dismissed two of them off hand as he felt only civilian level reserves and they were unfamiliar. The third, however, caught his attention. It was a familiar signature, one he had gotten acquainted with from the academy and the few times he'd been looking for Itachi and this one had been with him.

Sasuke, was heading home now. Not at all unexpected. The boy was even coming home later than planned. How courteous that Sasuke had given him some extra time to finish slaughtering the adults of his clan. Still, he'd have to make this raid quick and then knock the kid unconscious before he could attempt to alert someone.

Absently, Naruto reached out his senses further to look for Itachi.

He seemed to still be grieving Shisui at the Naka River. He wished he could join the teen, but he had no time to grieve now. He had taken out some of his anger on the Uchiha, but that only held him over. He wanted the man truly responsible for this outcome, Danzo, dead. For now though, he would hold his rage and release it when he was ready.

Standing as his clones popped and confirmed there was nothing aside from the bodies, he put some goggles on and double checked his mask was secured before he hopped down into the Uchiha's secret meeting place. The room predictably smelled of blood, and he immediately got to work on storing the bodies. It took less than a minute to get all of them sealed and ready for transport.

Once that was done, he stood and looked around the room he found himself in. It was fairly large, enough to fit most of the Uchiha with some room to spare. It was entirely rectangular and the walls were mostly gray. The only exception was of some Uchiha fans painted on the walls. The front of the room was a bit more decorated with carpet and a stone tablet behind a glass case. The stone had some writing on it, but from a distance he couldn't quite see what it said.

What he really wanted to see though was the sword displayed on the center of the front wall. He didn't know what it was, but he could tell it wasn't your typical ceremonial sword. He would save that for last. With quick strides he made his way to the stone tablet. As he neared it, his head started to hurt trying to make out what it said. It was blurry, but at the same time, he could almost make out some words. It was like looking at a particularly mind warping optical illusion.

He frowned and looked away, surely they wouldn't keep something like this if they couldn't read it. Perhaps it was special to them then? Perhaps a Fuinjutsu obscuring it to those not of Uchiha blood? He glance back at it out if the corner of his eye and it seemed to get much more clear.

The Sharingan was required to read it? Well that was convenient. Shutting his original eye he started to read.

The short of it explained that to go beyond that of the normal limits of the Sharingan one must kill the one dearest to them. It promised power and exotic powers far beyond what the normal Sharingan granted. The Mangekyo, it was called. The stone promised secrets and thus Mangekyo was required to read further.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his eye and he gripped it. What the hell was that? Shaking off the pain, he glanced back up, and he saw more text was revealed.

Did he have the Mangekyo? How? His ability to read through the portion revealed seemed to indicate that he did, but it was partially blurry. Was it somehow only partially active then? Or was it because he wasn't a true Uchiha?

Questions for later, he decided. Though he mentally noted to think of how he could have possibly activated it. He hadn't killed Itachi.

Turning his attention to the sword, he walked over and examined it as closely as he could without touching it. It was sheathed and just its sheath was beautifully crafted. It was a simple black sheath with winding streaks of crimson. It was immaculate, not even the slightest scratch on it. Normally he'd attribute it to being a brand new sword but that was unlikely with how traditional the Uchiha were. Upon closer examination, he saw there was some Fuinjutsu on it. He couldn't make it all out at a glance, but from what he saw, it seemed it could only be drawn by someone with certain qualities. What those qualities were remained a mystery to him, but it made him even more intrigued by the sword.

He could also see some suppression seals on the sword normally used to conceal the intent of chakra of a person from getting out. That was incredibly odd. He had never seen such a thing on any inanimate object. The only reason he could think of for that seal to be included would be if the sword gave off some sort of presence or had some sort of limited consciousness.

The number of swords like that were very few. He could count on one hand how many swords he knew had something resembling consciousness or a presence. If he expanded that to those he suspected to give off a presence, the number increased by quite a bit, but it didn't make it far past double digits.

Before he pulled the sword out, he looked to the hilt for any indication of what sword this might be. The handle itself was also simple, wrapped in black cloth the only design it had was that of a small raven and a crimson lining at the bottom of the hilt.

Something in his mind twitched in familiarity at the symbol. Looking above the hilt to the top of the cross guard, he found the final piece of the puzzle that made it all click into place. He shivered. He couldn't tell if it was from excitement or trepidation.

The sword was signed.

By Muramasa.

His breath almost stopped at that. Muramasa was one of, if not, the most famous, or rather, infamous sword smiths in history. After his death, and even during it, many would look for swords made by him and destroy them. Very few were left in the world now. He had thought it was silly to think all his swords were destroyed, but the masses would like to believe all of them were gone.

After all, his swords were supposedly imbued with evil either through ritual or a trapped spirit.

And this sword in particular he thought he knew. To think the Uchiha had been hiding something like this.

The Juuchi Yosamu.

Muramasa most infamous sword.

He had only read a brief account of how the sword came to be and what it was, but it had stuck with him. Not only because of the story behind it, but because he could find nothing else on the sword or even Muramasa aside from the usual he's evil propaganda.

Muramasa had apparently challenged his master, Masamune, to a contest of who could make the best sword. Muramasa had made Juuchi Yosamu and Masamune had made Yawarakai-Te. They had both dipped the blades in a river as they watched what happened.

Yawarakai-Te had only cut leaves flowing down the river, not even fish that brushed against it were cut.

Juuchi Yosamu had cut everything that flowed past it, even the air itself according to the legend.

A monk had said that Juuchi Yosamu was an evil blade that cut all indiscriminately, while Yawarakai-Te was a blade that would not cut the innocent, thus the more impressive one.

It was an interesting story, if one he didn't necessarily believe. He had thought it may have merely been a fairy tale, but this pointed to it being more fact than fiction. He wasn't one to put much stock in superstition of certain actions and items bringing misfortune, but he considered leaving the blade alone for all the stories that surrounded Muramasa.

Then he remembered much of what he read was likely biased and it was unlikely he'd get many, if any, more chances to get his hands on such a legendary sword. He couldn't pass this up. So he took the sword and strapped it to his back. He'd experiment later once he was in a more controlled environment to test it.

Hopping out of the hole in the ground, he primed the explosive tags he'd set for ten hours and covered the entrance again. He could only hope for ten hours at best. Someone was bound to notice the Uchiha police force missing quickly. It would be best if the Naka Shrine wasn't searched thoroughly.

Dashing out the doors and to the roof tops, he extended his senses and searched for Sasuke. It appeared that he had only just entered the compound. And if his frantic movements were anything to go by, he had discovered his missing clan.

Well at least he picked up on something being wrong, but the idiot should have run. It worked out fine for him though. It would've made escaping Konoha significantly harder if the village went into lock down.

Looking down on Sasuke from a rooftop, he made a split second decision. Originally he was just going to knock the kid out and be on his way, but despite his dislike for Sasuke, the boy was still Itachi's brother. He could admit he was a little jealous of Sasuke for that, but he had different relationship with Itachi. One that he preferred. Besides, he could acknowledge the little Uchiha was at least reasonably talented.

He didn't want Itachi to lose the clan member he cared for most. Not by his hand or by the hand of another on a future mission the kid would take. So he would give Sasuke a little push. Give him some real drive to improve.

* * *

Sasuke was excited. More than excited really. He had just figured out how to hit three targets while flipping in mid air. It wasn't as good as Itachi could do, but it was still much better than what he had previously been able to do. He couldn't wait to show Itachi, maybe he'd finally start paying attention to him again instead of poking him in the forehead and telling him later all the time.

And maybe it would relieve him of some of the stress he could see Itachi facing. He didn't know what was going on, but the clan and Itachi seemed to disagree about something. Quite fiercely too if that fight he had witnessed earlier today with some of the others was anything to go by.

As Sasuke entered the Clan Compound, he automatically headed for his house. It wasn't until he had passed three houses that he felt something was wrong. It was quiet. Granted, the Uchiha weren't very rambunctious, but he should have seen someone, or at least heard them. Instead, all he saw were a few lights on and nothing else. Deciding to see if he could find out what was happening before he got home, he went to knock on the door of one of his aunt's house's. He waited for half a dozen seconds and when he still heard no response, his gut twisted on itself. She never took this long to answer the door.

Thinking that his worry overtook any politeness in this situation, he opened the unlocked door. Making his footfalls as silent as possible, he crept around the house, looking for any sign of anyone.

As he entered the dining room, he felt cold. No one had been in the rest of the house and that was no different here, but there was food on the table. His aunt never let food go to waste by letting it sit out. Dread was starting to form in the back of his mind as he approached the table. Touching the food, he found it to be ever so slightly warm to the touch. It couldn't have been abandoned too long ago then.

Looking around the table for any clues, he froze when he spotted red and smelled iron. ' _Blood,'_ he thought. Full panic gripped him now. They couldn't be gone. Couldn't be dead. He tried to calm himself. Their bodies weren't here, so they could have escaped. Plus, there wasn't much blood. They had to have escaped. Besides, no one was crazy enough to attack the Uchiha. They were the strongest clan in Konoha after all.

But just to make sure there were still some people around, he went to the house next door. They didn't answer either. That house was also empty. Fear gripped him again. Where was everybody? He started darting around all the houses in the area and with each house he checked, his panic only grew.

No one was home. There was only ever a little blood or sometimes only some cold dinner.

After he had checked four houses, he started to sprint towards his home. Maybe whoever had attacked hadn't gotten there yet. He could warn Kaa-chan, Tou-san, and Itachi-nii. They were strong. They could escape or fight off the intruder together.

He lost himself as he ran with single minded determination to save his closest family. Finally he saw his house and some relief started to come to him. Everything was going to be fine.

Then, he was suddenly face first in the pavement, arm behind his back and face pressed into the path.

A voice spoke then, cold and laced with condemnation, "You are a fool boy. You could have run for help, but instead you tried to fight something out of your league. You were even so arrogant as to forget your surroundings in the face of likely danger."

Sasuke was rattled both from the impact of the ground and what the voice said. That he could have alerted the shinobi to catch this, this _monster_ if he hadn't been so quick to run home. Then fear gripped him as he realized he was about to die.

He scrambled to get out of the grip of his captor, reinforcing his muscles with chakra.

It was futile. He was too weak to break the hold.

The voice spoke again and he listened a little more this time. "Your clan was dreadfully disappointing. Only Fugaku gave even a semblance of a challenge. Of course Itachi wasn't here, but I assume he would've been a little less pathetic."

Sasuke racked his brain as he listened to the voice. It rang a bell. He knew this voice, but from where? He tried to push down the rage his attacker's voice brang up and instead concentrate on figuring out who this was. The voice was young, maybe a bit older than him. And it had a cold edge to it that he had only ever heard in bitter ninja and those who talked of other enemy villages. The tinge of hate and a hardened warrior who had seen blood.

The pit in his stomach fell further and fear and anger grew in equal measure. He only knew one voice that held those qualities at his age. And only that person was more skilled than him as far as he was aware.

But he needed to confirm it.

"You won't stomp the Uchiha out like bugs, you bastard! Itachi will kill you!" he yelled.

The voice let out a chuckle. Then he felt the grip on his head tighten and slowly lift it up. "You and I both know Itachi won't do that. Hunt me down, probably, but he won't kill me. And I'm quite good at covering my tracks. Who knows if he'll even be able to catch me. Especially if he's worried about his weak little brother."

His face finally lifted enough to look down the road. And see the head that was upside down in front of his.

He was right.

It was Naruto. The Monster. The one who stole Itachi-nii from him.

Rage burned inside him. He renewed his efforts to break this Demon's hold on him.

 _It_ only seemed amused by his efforts.

Suddenly, it let go of his arms and grabbed the back of his collar. Sasuke could barely comprehend how he ended up in the wall of the house next to them. He was disoriented as Naruto grabbed his collar and slammed him into the wall again. Darkness started to swim in his vision as he tried to retain consciousness, but he wasn't used to any kind of punishment.

The blonde spoke one last time before the darkness consumed him, "I will give you a few years before I come back. By then if you are still so weak and I see no potential for strength like Itachi's, I will kill you."

With that, he felt a touch along his neck and he blacked out.

* * *

Naruto gazed down dispassionately at the boy he had just curbstomped so soundly. This would no doubt put hatred in his heart. Whether he would hone it into a sharp weapon or an unrefined flail remained to be seen.

Hopefully Itachi wouldn't be pulled down by this. From what he knew of Itachi, he figured that it would only strengthen his resolve to protect his little brother. He'd gain strength, of that there was no doubt, but he didn't know if his friend would do something stupid and drastic to try to protect the boy in the future.

That was a concern for later. Now it was time to escape.

He became a shadow as he drifted from building to building, slowly making his way to the wall of Konoha. He made his way over to the point Itachi had taken him to on their first mission and quirked his lips into something reminiscent of a sardonic grin. How ironic it was that Itachi, meant to be an anchor to Konoha for him, had shown him this and now it would be used to toss off the chains Konoha had attempted to keep attached to him.

He disappeared into the night after that, only pausing to slip past the detection barrier.

* * *

 _Not entirely happy with the beginning of this_ _(the end too)_ _\- I think it's too choppy - but, eh, can't think of anything to transition better. Plus I wanted to get this out. Anyways, if you didn't know, the prologue to this is a different story as I said at the top._

 _Anywho, reviews appreciated. Also looking for a beta if anyone is interested._

 **Yawarakai-Te** \- Tender Hands

 **Juuchi Yosamu** \- Ten-thousand Cold Nights


	2. One Step Back

**To clear up some possible confusion on the previous chapter:** There is some confusion because I cut the prologue short and didn't get to build or show the situation properly. I mentioned it in passing, but the situation with the Uchiha and Konoha was very tense, obvious even to civilians. Naruto Knew without question that the only way something big (a civil war) wasn't going to erupt was an eradication of the Uchiha, a conclusion he knew Itachi would come to as well since they both think similarly when it comes to those aspects. Plus Naruto was very angry and he didn't like most Uchiha to start with so even if there was another way (perhaps get the Daimyo involved (they will be more relevant and powerful here)), he didn't really care that much.

 **Also, Geography:** If you would like to see the map I am using as reference, just google Elemental Nations Political Map by xShadowRebirthx on Deviant Art.

 **Chapter 2: Back to Square One**

" _Weakness is the path of those who no longer wish to protect what is theirs. Those who wander aimlessly shall lose all that they have._ " _\- Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

As soon as Naruto exited the detection barrier, he spawned two clones. One to cover any tracks he might make and the other to create a false trail should anyone follow him carelessly. He was headed west at the moment and as he did so, he ran through the options of where he could go. He had discarded Kiri or anywhere in Water Country before he had even left. They had recently entered a civil war, something about prejudice against those with bloodlines.

Water Country's Daimyo didn't have a strong enough military to make much difference in controlling that village for a variety of reasons. One was the fact that the Daimyo was young as a result of the Mizukage having the former Daimyo and some of his prominent generals assassinated. The other equally troubling problem for them was a lack in mobility compared to the shinobi. It was looking like the Mizukage - Yagura, he believed - would have the young Daimyo killed should he follow in his father's footsteps and attempt to stop the civil war.

While the prospect of fighting in that war was tempting, logic overruled his desire to fight. He had no allies, next to no information on any organized group against the Mizukage, and it was unlikely at best that the Mizukage would welcome him. The Uzumaki may not officially have a bloodline, but their strong life force was likely considered one by some extremists. He wasn't willing to risk his life on a bet like that when there was no way he could escape a meeting with the Mizukage - assuming he would even get one.

Aside from that, the people of Kiri tended to be distrusting at the best of times. They didn't much like outsiders. Perhaps if one side got desperate in a few years, he'd attempt something, but not now. Besides, it was hard enough to even get into Water Country. Apparently, Yagura had ordered a lockdown of trade and harsh inspections before a boat was allowed passage.

Kumo had also been quick to be crossed off his list. They may not be in any sort of conflict that he had an almost guarantee of dying; however, they, contrary to Kiri, loved bloodlines. That in itself was not off putting, but they were rather possessive of those they had and jealous of those they didn't. They tended to keep what they viewed as prized bloodlines under a tight lock and he didn't want that. He wouldn't mind that they would want him to impregnate a bunch of women, that didn't so much affect his combat ability.

The only problem he really had with that was the greedy bastards would brainwash his kids into being loyal to Kumo. He did not want his name slandered by blindly loyal children. That would imply that he could be made into a blindly loyal tool.

Perhaps he would have if Konoha weren't so blind and Sarutobi so soft.

That, of course, wasn't even taking into consideration what they'd do when they found out he was a Jinchuuriki and the son of the Yellow Flash and the Red Death **(1)**. The current Raikage had been rivals with Minato and had not been pleased when the world declared Minato the fastest man alive.

He discarded Iwa for much the same reason as Kumo. They may not covet bloodlines as much, but they despised the Yellow Flash.

He could try to stay in Hi no Kuni, but there was little that came to mind in terms of combat that he could use to improve himself. Not to mention, it kept him close to Konoha. While he could probably avoid most patrols, it was the few he couldn't that worried him.

Itachi, chief among them.

Of the Great Five nations, that left the Land of Wind. Unfortunately, he was … reluctant to go there at best. While he was normally all for training in harsh conditions, he only had a rudimentary understanding of how to navigate in the desert. That rudimentary understanding mostly consisted of using the sun to tell which direction he was going.

That didn't account for any sandstorm that might come up and despite his fortitude, he doubted his ability to come out of one of those unscathed. After all, there was only so much he could subject himself to inside Konoha to train to endure extreme conditions.

Aside from that, he wasn't entirely familiar with where many cities in the Land of Wind were, let alone towns that would be more useful for resupplying. Oh, sure, he had studied a number of battles that had occurred there - Suna was quite high on the list of being able to use their surroundings to great strategic advantage after all - but he had somewhat neglected geographical knowledge. He knew where the capital was and the general areas of some major coastal cities, but knowing where they were on a map and navigating through the desert to find them were two very different things.

Unfortunately for him, the Land of Wind was probably the safest place he could hide from Konoha and train in peace. Sure Sunagakure was allied with Konoha, but that relationship was strained and he doubted Sarutobi or the council would want to go to them directly for help. It would paint them in a bad light if they couldn't catch a child on their own, no matter how skilled.

If they did announce that he was the one responsible for the Uchiha being massacred, it may take some heat off them, but he had remained relatively unknown. Sure he had gained a small reputation, but not enough of one for other nations to not at least mock Konoha. Until he was confirmed by another source or two of being a great threat, he likely wouldn't be taken too seriously. That suited him fine for now. He could not keep off the trail of the upper quarter of most of the major villages. And he probably couldn't fight with the upper third or so in a straight fight.

For now anonymity would be his best friend. He could stay in some of the smaller countries for a time, but most had little to offer him at the moment. Only a couple were embroiled in any sort of conflict and those were mostly cold wars with sparse fighting. All of them certainly had some hidden gems, but he had no leads on such things and searching blindly was a fool's game. The few that could offer him something at the moment weren't great choices for a variety of reasons.

The Land of Iron was home of the best and largest force of samurai in the world and he could surely learn some phenomenal Kenjutsu there. However, the samurai weren't terribly receptive to even unknown ninja, let alone those who had a reputation, as he would no doubt gain. They presented themselves as a neutral party, but they did _not_ like ninja. The samurai were all about honor and straight on fights mixed with some tactics, even if they had grown a little more lax in that department. They would not take kindly to one like him, who thrived on subterfuge and traps.

Snow country was another option he thought could give him something. For one, it'd give him some experience in cold and the snow, something he couldn't simulate well in Fire Country. And more importantly, Snow country was generally agreed to have some of the most advanced technology in the Elemental nations. He thought it would be very interesting to dissect that technology and see if he could utilize it in any way.

The problem with snow country was that he would no doubt have trouble covering his tracks. He was well acquainted with covering his tracks in forests and grasslands, but snow was a different matter. One could argue that it was similar to sand in that it was ever shifting so covering tracks didn't take much effort, but he didn't want to take the risk, especially if there were no storms to actually cover his tracks.

In addition to potential trouble covering himself properly, he'd have to go North through the Land of Waterfalls, which was uncomfortably close to Earth Country. That left him with few options aside from the Land of Wind.

With a few more moments of deliberation, he decided that he would head through the Land of Rivers, stop in some villages on the way, and find someone or some book that could teach him how to navigate the desert, along with a map or two.

-o0o-

Itachi watched as the sun rose over the village, bathing it in its constant light. It was a bitter contrast to the dark path he had to follow. The life of a shinobi was always a dark one, but his would take it's darkest turn tonight. He would kill his family with the help of Uchiha Madara and then become a deep cover agent within his organization, the Akatsuki. He had no idea how the man could still live, but the things that man had shown him… they were not things anyone of this era bar the oldest shinobi would be aware of.

Regardless of his future woes, he would see his close family one last time before he had to kill them, then see Naruto to-

His thoughts were cut off by a loud explosion. His mind raced and his body moved on auto pilot towards the explosion. Who would have the audacity to attack Konoha so openly?

And then he realized that explosion had come from the Uchiha district.

Panic and fear overcame him at once, a million questions racing through his mind.

Who did this?

Did Danzo have someone else act in his stead?

And most importantly, was Sasuke ok?

He forced his panic down and brought up the cold, efficient ANBU he had become known as, then started to sort through information to find answers.

It was unlikely Danzo had acted. It wasn't like him to try something so open. He dealt in the shadows above all else. He wouldn't have drawn attention to one of his operations barring the worst case scenario. For him that would be the Uchiha moving in to start a civil war. That was impossible, they weren't set to do such a thing for another week at the least.

Madara was certainly not involved in this incident. There would be no reason for him to do such a thing with how secretive he had been. Aside from that, he appeared to want to recruit him and destroying all the Uchiha before the agreed upon time and method was certainly not a way to endear himself to the elder Uchiha.

That left precious few with both the motive and the means to want to take out the Uchiha. Of those people, almost all were leaders of a major village and No one wanted another war right now. It was still a bit too soon after the Third Great Shinobi War to start throwing the number of bodies in the ground that a fourth would cause.

He had no more time to speculate as he arrived at his clan grounds. ANBU were swarming the place, seemingly looking for a culprit. More higher ranked shinobi were showing up while Chunin and Genin were escorting civilians away from the scene. An ANBU agent he was vaguely acquainted with noted his approach and nodded to him. He gave a courteous nod back and gave the man a look that asked for details on the situation.

The man, Kuma was his mask, spoke in a hushed tone, "The explosion happened at the Naka Shrine. There were no bodies and only a little blood. The most odd thing is that the only bodies we have found are those of children. All are alive and all were hidden and restrained in parts of the compound. We are currently searching it for any other survivors. Sasuke was one of those found." Itachi let out the slightest breath of relief at that, Sasuke was fine at least. That relief quickly gave way to worry for the others of his clan. Kuma continued, "None aside from children have been found - alive or dead. Someone took all the bodies."

That was worrying. No bodies at all? There were easily ways and reasons to take the bodies of a target, the Uchiha more than most, but _everyone._ That was not only at least mildly difficult for most to achieve with such great numbers - though certainly not impossible - but there would be little point to taking every adult - especially civilians.

If they were merely kidnapped, then why? Information on the village, knowledge, and use of the Sharingan were obvious answers, but there was no need to take civilians for that as well. There was no way someone would be stupid enough to try to subvert them to their side. Even if this enemy knew about the turbulence between the Uchiha and Konoha and offered an alliance against the Leaf, they would almost certainly refuse. The Uchiha felt threatened and merely wanted to not feel as if they weren't trusted in their own village. They didn't want the village to collapse.

Plus the skill needed to transport that many people alive was far greater than to transport that many dead. He also hadn't heard anything of a deal like that, and despite becoming something of an outcast in the clan recently, his father still trusted him with most of their plans.

That left the alternative of them all being dead and transported. More plausible by far, particularly if the use of Fuinjutsu was involved. Regardless, if all of this was done undetected, then why would the perpetrator blow the Naka Shrine up and draw attention to the Uchiha Compound? Following this train of thought through he came to a conclusion. There would be only two reasons to blow the shrine sky high. One would be to make a statement, and the second would be to draw attention to the scene to buy more time to get away.

And then he had no more time to think as the pressure that heralded the arrival of an angry Kami no Shinobi bore down on him.

It sent a clear message to everyone in the vicinity. _Get the fuck out of here._

Only he, Kuma, and the ANBU already sorting through the compound for things to track stayed for obvious reasons. Everyone else evacuated the area like the Shinigami himself was after them. And considering how the normally grandfatherly Sandaime was acting, they probably felt like that. The God that was the Sandaime Hokage took a slow look around, taking in the situation in mere moments and then set his glare on Kuma and Itachi. He seemed to glide over to them until he was standing a mere step away. The look in his eyes made Itachi and Kuma, some of the best the village had to offer, shiver in undisguised terror.

The God seemed to growl out his question, "Would someone like to explain to me why the Uchiha are gone, dead I presume, and how no one noticed?"

For a moment, neither of them could speak, so overcome with terror, but they put a lid on those emotions, difficult even for them, who had mastered their emotions. Then Kuma responded as he snapped to attention, "Sir, we have no leads thus far. Aside from Itachi, the only bodies we could find were the children's - all alive and unconscious. We have yet to receive word from the Barrier Division, but we assume the perpetrator somehow knew a way to get in and out of the barrier undetected."

The Sandaime was pleased by his response, seeming to have already put that together. He flicked his eyes to Itachi for the briefest of moments, who in response gave the barest shake of his head. He almost growled before walking towards the Uchiha Compound. They followed the unspoken command to follow.

"Get Kakashi and Tsume. I want them here yesterday. See if Shibi can have his insects find any noticeable chakra residue he can follow."

Kuma disappeared to do that as Itachi continued to follow a step behind him. A wave of their God's hand sent the ANBU escort he had away to bring him results.

They walked in silence until they reached the Naka Shrine. There, they stopped, and the God demanded, "What happened?"

Itachi nearly swallowed audibly as he took a half second to collect his thoughts, "I don't know. I didn't do this and we both know _he_ doesn't operate like this. All I've been able to put together is that whoever did this blew the Naka Shrine up to direct our attention here. Either to distract us and gain more time or to make a statement."

He didn't have to say what that statement may be. They both knew. _Konoha has grown soft,_ it said, _Look how the famed Uchiha clan can be wiped out in a single night._

The war veteran said nothing for a moment, only gazing at the smoldering ruins of the Naka Shrine. Then, he mumbled in a voice so soft he almost missed it, "Whoever did this was _very_ good, but also inexperienced. We will find something, and I trust you will be able to help identify who."

Itachi didn't question how he knew whoever had done this was inexperienced, but he didn't question it. This man was his God, and he would do as ordered. He was all too glad to be of use in finding out who had done this.

The Sandaime spoke a bit above his previous mumble as he addressed Itachi once more, "Go clear your mind. You will need to have all your focus to deal with this. Meet me in Headquarters in an hour. I should have the most useful information by then."

He took the silent dismissal and order for what it was. So he went to the place he had the most fond memories to clear his head, despite them being tainted recently. The Naka River.

It took barely over a minute to reach the river. And once he arrived, it quickly became a place he did not want to be. He smelled blood. It was faint, but it still hung in the air. He might've passed it off as being a psychological effect of killing Shisui here, but this smell came from a specific spot, not near the river's edge - though a general smell of iron still lingered.

That could be dealt with later. His greatest concern now was Madara, standing at the edge of the river with his navy blue trench coat and orange mask, striped with wavy black lines. He did not seem pleased. His deep voice resonated through the clearing, barely hiding his aggravation, "I am most… displeased that an outside factor decided to take matters into their own hands."

The simple statement put Itachi on edge. This man was far out of his league, and while there was a slight chance he could cause enough of a commotion to gain the Sandaime's attention, that would likely do more harm than good for him. For now, it was best to play along.

"I am as well. Now I am not able to cut them down myself and give them a dignified death." Despite the words Itachi spoke, they both knew he hadn't truly wanted his family dead. Itachi was just trying to dance to the more powerful Uchiha's tune. He knew he was walking a fine line here. Saying that implied their deal for him to join Madara was now off. It wasn't a terribly scathing reply, just enough to communicate the teen's hesitance to keep his end of a defunct deal.

The reply he got was both reassuring and worrying. "Hmm. I suppose that's true. And I can't take you without drawing attention, but then I'd rather you not go telling the world I'm alive."

The two Uchiha never broke eye contact even as the younger of the two tensed. "That won't be a problem. Few would believe it even if I deemed it something worth telling."

Madara hummed and turned to look down at the Naka River. "I suppose that's true enough, but the few that did believe you would be the problem." He turned back to Itachi and his lone visible Sharingan eye seemed to glow, "Let's compromise. I won't kill you, and you'll forget you ever met me."

Itachi realized what was happening halfway through his last sentence and attempted to fight the memory erasal. At least keep something to clue him i-

Itachi blinked and the clearness and beauty of the world returned to him. What had caused him to space out like that?

He smelled the iron tang of blood in the air and came to the only conclusion he could. He had most likely gotten caught in a flashback of when he had killed Shisui. He could still clearly see Shisui's smiling face, caked with blood and exhaustion, giving him his last eye.

Shaking the image away, he looked to the sun to see how much time had passed. Confirming that it had only been five minutes at most, he set his focus on finding the location of where the scent of blood was coming from. It didn't take him long to find the smell. It came from a bush near the edge of the clearing. There was a small splatter of blood coating the underside of a leaf. He frowned at that. While the three of them - he, Shisui, and Naruto - had found themselves bleeding more than a little while training here, they always cleaned up. None of them were terribly fond of training in a place that stank of blood. Aside from that, they bled either in the open field or on top of the vegetation, not under it.

He sent a modicum of chakra to his eyes to activate the Sharingan. The enhanced vision it granted would help. With it on, he could now pick out minute details that no one would normally pick up. The most prevalent were the minute bending the stems of the plant had, as if it had been pushed aside to put something there.

Pushing the stems aside, he saw some black markings, reminiscent of a seal, a storage seal to be specific.

It didn't seem to have any traps, but that meant little if what was sealed inside was dangerous. As he examined it more closely, Itachi realized that he recognized this style and the unique hand writing of the storage seal. Despite what many thought, there were numerous styles of Fuinjutsu. This was one of the reasons the destruction of Uzushiogakure was thought by many to be one of the greatest losses of knowledge. Their style was different than what anyone else knew, and it had been kept to a group who refined it over generations. Other styles could accomplish the same thing, given someone figured out how, but the Uzumaki had been the only ones who had ample time to develop a certain style, in addition to a great number of talented people in Fuinjutsu.

Besides that, everyone who used Fuinjutsu was had handwriting even if it was barely noticeable, so if you were good enough - or in his case, had phenomenal vision - one could take a good guess at who had made it. If you were familiar with that person's style, of course. And this style was undoubtedly Naruto's. He would recognize the unique, more fluid and free pattern of his Fuinjutsu anywhere. Seeing that assuaged his fears of a trap and he channeled chakra to the seal to open it.

When he saw what was inside, he wished it had been a trap.

In his hands was a sheet of paper that had a single word on it - sorry - and an arrow pointing down. Realizing the greater implications of this as well as the intent of the arrow, he hurried to the edge of the cliff that hugged the Naka River. Sure enough, tied up at the bottom of the cliff was Izumi.

And suddenly all the pieces fell into place. This was all the evidence he needed that pointed to Naruto as the culprit of exterminating the Uchiha. There were ways of forging Naruto's Fuinjutsu style, but not only was that unlikely and difficult, the fact that Izumi had been left unharmed (relatively) pointed towards Naruto. It fit with what he knew of Naruto too well. All the Uchiha gone, without a trace and no one in the village noticed? That fit with Naruto's absurd ability to be stealthy. The explosion at the shrine that was most likely delayed fit with Naruto's knowledge of exploding seals.

He also knew, that despite their friendship - a relationship more akin to brothers - Naruto still hated both the village and the Uchiha. He had tempered it, and Naruto could hide it well, but he could no longer fool himself into thinking Naruto would stay loyal to Konoha just because of him.

The only thing that seemed off was the timing. Looking at it objectively, he knew Naruto planned to eventually leave the village, but this was too soon for his character. He liked to think that he knew how Naruto thought well, and Naruto, while confident, bordering on arrogant at times, was a firm realist. Itachi knew that Naruto had likely been hiding some skills from him, but there was also no way he could be so good that Naruto would think he could leave the safety of the village without being in a significant amount of danger.

Naruto may be confident and thrive on danger, but he wasn't suicidal. He stayed in the village for the protection it provided.

A small, sentimental part of his mind also said it was because he valued their friendship.

Regardless, his point stood that Naruto wouldn't do this without being given a good reason. His mind went to Shisui and all the tension that he and Shisui had been exhibiting in recent weeks. Naruto was perceptive, there was no way he had missed that. What's more, he was nosy and did not like to be kept in the dark. There was more than a good chance that he had at least an idea of what was putting them on edge.

His mind worked furiously, connecting the dots. The timing of the attack, - right after Shisui died - Naruto's ability in stealth, everything.

It was very possible that Naruto had been spying on Shisui's final moments. Naruto could have easily put together what he planned to do and intended to save him the pain of doing so. Couple that with Naruto's friendship with Shisui and his viscous need for vengeance on those who wronged him and it wasn't too far of a leap in logic to find the blonde's motive.

That said, what should he do with this information? On one hand, he could tell the Hokage of this and have teams sent after him immediately. And possibly have a Bingo Book entry released. On the other, he could keep it to himself to buy Naruto a little extra time as far as bounty hunters coming after him. Teams would be sent after him regardless. It would only be a bit harder for them to precisely find someone they didn't know the appearance of.

They would find out eventually of course, especially once they noticed their Jinchuuriki was gone after they took their attention off the Uchiha situation. Still, keeping the information may buy Naruto the extra little bit he needed to escape. His reputation would take a hit if anyone ever found out he had known and not told anyone, not to mention those that would question loyalty. That could lead down a path similar to what the rest of the Uchiha suffered and he couldn't stand to put the children of the clan or Sasuke through that.

Naruto was still young and had much to learn, but he was far more prepared for the world and knew the consequences his actions would bring. What ultimately made his decision was the fact that Naruto could bear the weight of any burden, while Sasuke would crumble beneath the weight as he was now. He headed towards ANBU HQ with one final thought, ' _I'm sorry, Naruto.'_

-o0o-

Naruto had rarely been as exhausted as he was now. It had been roughly eight hours since he had left Konoha and the sun was just beginning to rise. During that time, he had taken the time to drench himself in mud and wash off in a river to rid himself of an easy trail to follow if Inuzuka were sent after him. Then he'd taken to heading north for a bit without suppressing his chakra much to try to throw off any Aburame.

After that, he had stopped in Tanzaku Gai to get some civilian clothes. He hadn't had time to prepare everything he would need to stay anonymous during his time outside the village. Besides, he didn't have many civilian clothes, not having seen much of a point to them when he could just use the _**Henge**_ for the few short times he did need civilian clothes.

It was an odd experience. For one, he had never really gone shopping for clothes. The few times he needed something, he either stole it or, if he was feeling a bit less bitter than usual or was with someone, buy what he needed from one of the armories. Admittedly, the service from armories had been curt and to the point rather than the typical scathing glares he got elsewhere. Still, his general buying experiences had left a bitter taste in his mouth. Stealing was so much easier.

In Tanzaku Gai, it seemed they waited on you hand and foot, likely trying to get the customer to buy more than they needed. They hadn't even cared that he looked so young, only that he had the money to pay for what he bought.

Unfortunately for them, this sort of service only made him uncomfortable. For one, he had never been treated like he was worth much of anything. Itachi and Sakumo treated him more like an equal than anything, something he appreciated. He was also rather uncomfortable with people getting so close to him. He actually had to stop himself from putting a kunai through a clerk's throat when she had seemingly teleported to his side. He admitted, privately, that perhaps Sakumo was right in that he was a little too paranoid.

Then he reminded himself that he was no longer within the protective walls of Konoha, so his extreme paranoia would be useful and completely justifiable.

Of course, he only legitimately bought this clothing to throw off his pursuers in the unlikely event he would be tracked to this specific store. He had later stolen what he would actually wear from a different store half way across the town. He then proceeded to mess with their records to make certain the missing clothing wasn't easily noticed.

He had gotten clothing for a variety of occasions that the poor and middle class might wear. He doubted there would be need in the near future to have high class clothing available for long periods of time. Plus high class clothing was more easily noticed missing. By then he had realized that money may be a slight problem. While he could easily live off the land and cared little for money, it was a useful tool to wave around to get people to do what you wanted.

So while he was in the gambling capital of Fire Country, he decided to make a little cash. He may have saved his money from the missions he did, but it wasn't like those missions paid terribly well.

So he had sent five clones to various casinos, all _**Henged**_ into a nondescript looking person, both men and women, with brown hair and eyes. All had varying degrees of middle class dressing on and played a variety of card games. It would have been child's play to demolish the games he was in and rake in the cash by using some sleight of hand, but he refrained for a multitude of reasons. For one, it would not do for one of his clones to get kicked out and be popped by some bouncer.

Most prominently, however is that it would draw a _lot_ of attention if five people all suddenly wiped the floor with other players at the same time. That would blare warnings to any half decent tracker and information gatherer. Even an idiot could put together something fishy was going on and for ninja, it would give his ability to make high functioning clones away, if they didn't divine exactly what technique he had employed.

He still came away a good 50,000 ryo richer, so for now he called it good.

From there he made his way to River Country, zig zagging the whole way and creating fake trails that led farther North than he was actually going. Overall, he was very tired from the ordeal. Normally, he could have done it with few problems. A straight shot from the Hidden Leaf to the closest border of River Country was only about 100 miles. With the eight hours he had, a straight shot would barley be a strain at all.

However, he hadn't been running the entire time, and that left him with closer to six hours. Still not too much of a problem even if he added in retracing his steps and making fake trails. All told, that brought up the distance closer to 140 miles. That put him at an average speed of 23 miles per hour. Not a problem at all for a decent shinobi. Even six hours of straight running wouldn't normally exhaust him despite being nowhere near his physical prime. What really got to him was his lack of sleep. He'd been awake for something around 50 hours now.

So he was now looking for a town that he could get a few hours of sleep in before heading off again. He planned to stop in River's capital, Tani, before he headed for the border with Wind Country both to satisfy his own curiosity and to see if there was anything useful to come back for eventually.

It was another half hour before he found a town. It was small and only had a single road leading into or out of it. Perfect for a rest stop. He easily slipped into town unnoticed and quickly found an attic that didn't seem to see much use.

As he leaned back against a box, he took the sword he had stolen from the Uchiha off his back and set it to his side. As he did so, he gazed longingly at it. It seemed to beg to be unsheathed and used, but he knew that was a bad idea. He knew next to nothing about this sword other than the few (likely inaccurate) legends he had glossed over. Still, all those legends warned against pulling it out as it either made the user mad or forced them to kill before resheathing it.

Those stories were likely exaggeration, but all legends had a grain of truth to them. And if the fear generated from Muramasa's mere name was anything to go by, there was likely a little more than just a grain of truth in those legends.

With fantasy's of dissecting those seals on the sheath and finally drawing that blade, he slipped into a light slumber.

-o0o-

Itachi walked into ANBU HQ in a somber mood. None of it showed on his face of course, but he knew that he would leave this building feeling he had betrayed his own principles. He nodded in greeting and respect to the ANBU who greeted him. They knew why he was here.

It took him barely any time to reach the room he could sense the Sandaime was in. His presence was just so much _more_ than anyone else in the building. And with each step towards the room, he felt his dread and guilt grow. There would be no going back after this. As he opened the door, he let out one final breath to clear himself of all emotions that may get in the way at the last moment.

Sitting around a table with the Hokage at the head, were some of the most prominent members of the village. Two clan heads, Inuzuka Tsume, her ninken; Kuromaru, Aburame Shibi, and Hatake Kakashi. He had no doubt the ANBU commander was also in the room, hiding in the shadows. All of them had grim looks.

They glanced at him as he entered and Sandaime-sama nodded to an empty chair before immediately going back to business, "What do you have for me?"

A simple command that they responded to at once, Kakashi starting, "All the houses we investigated used the same method of attack. It is likely that there was only one person to blame for this. In all the houses there was little to no blood. Whoever did this was good, but not a professional. They haven't yet mastered killing without letting blood spill to the floor. There have also been some seals found on the walls of the compound. They were to keep any minor disturbances unnoticed."

Tsume went next without any prompting, "We found a scent that followed a path through the compound. However, there were places that we couldn't find much of a foreign scent at all. It was there, but not as strong as in other places. The path it follows is also odd, so we assume they know how to use clones."

Shibi added on to that, "There was also only one foreign chakra that my Kikauchi were able to detect as non-Uchiha. It was hidden well, and this person either knew how to cut off his trail from my Kikauchi or they suppressed their chakra even more on the way out of the village. I find it more likely to be the former. Why? Because it would be illogical to not suppress their chakra as much as possible when assassinating the Uchiha. The only place it was not suppressed was at the Naka Shrine. There seemed to be a battle between Fugaku and the culprit."

Sarutobi nodded in thought and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, taking in all the information. Itachi took this as a good time to insert himself into the flow of intelligence. "Sandaime-sama, I believe I know who is responsible," all eyes in the room snapped to him. This was it. It was time to betray his friend. "Uzumaki Naruto."

They all only stared before the most brash of them, Tsume, spoke out in disbelief, "You've gotta be kidding me Itachi! Sure the brat's a little cold and all, but surely you don't think he has the skill to pull this off! I know the Uchiha aren't all that fond of him, but I thought you knew to look past such things!"

He remained resolute, his expression remaining impassive. "Tsume-san, I do not harbor ill will towards Uzumaki Naruto. I have trained with him on numerous occasions and have come to respect him." she gave him a slightly disbelieving look, but he pressed on, "I do have reason to believe he did this beyond some flimsy conjecture."

Tsume gave him a large frown, "Itachi, I haven't met the kid myself, but I've heard about him. He may be skilled, but he doesn't have what it takes to do this. Regardless of what evidence you have, there's simply no way he could pull this off on his own."

He agreed on that much. He had thought about it on his way over here. Naruto couldn't have pulled this off himself. There had been a meeting in the Naka Shrine and he would not have been able to get in there unseen. Plus he certainly couldn't win a straight on fight with most Uchiha in that meeting, let alone all of them. It clearly pointed to Naruto having someone help him. Maybe not necessarily in a direct fight because that would have certainly been noticed, but by placing some seals he had designed. Naruto could really be a viscous, sadistic little monster when he wanted to.

If he had someone that was stealthy enough to do that, there wouldn't be a need to fight all that much. He knew Naruto had a number of contacts in the less scrupulous part of Konoha. There was bound to be someone that stealthy. Plus, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that Naruto had a way of weakening people - likely poison - that would allow him to fight his father and win. He had seen some plants in his friends apartment before that he knew to be very poisonous. He had also noticed some that he didn't recognize. It was likely those were some more exotic and dangerous plants.

"I agree Tsume-san, but I don't think he did it entirely alone. I believe he had someone set seals he designed around the compound to close it off and weaken those he couldn't assassinate outright. I know he is skilled enough to do something at least on that level, though it is still surprising how much he has hidden."

Tsume still didn't believe him, so he decided to stop beating around the bush and reveal why he knew it was Naruto. "I am sure you know that there are subtle ways to tell who has written a seal. I found such a seal I know is of Naruto's style merely about half an hour ago. It contained the location of the body of Uchiha Izumi. I have since delivered her to the medics."

That shut Tsume up as she took in a deep breath. They were all familiar with how difficult it was to fake another's style of seal.

At that point, the ANBU commander bled out of the shadows and dropped into a kneel. "Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto is not at his apartment and many of his things have disappeared as well."

The Sandaime took in a deep breath of smoke from his pipe and then let it out in a sigh. "I see."

No one spoke for a minute, taking the time to process that. Itachi could see that Kakashi was not taking this well. He likely viewed this as one of his greatest failures for failing to keep his sensei's son safe within the walls of Konoha. Then the Sandaime spoke up, his voice unwavering, "We cannot let this go unpunished, regardless of the boy's age and status. I will send some Hunter Nin after him and if he is not captured within three days, I will set a bounty on his head. You're dismissed."

Shibi and Tsume got up to leave immediately, though Tsume seemed most displeased and surprised by the revelation. No doubt because she didn't want to think of someone so near her son's age being capable of such a massacre.

He and Kakashi stayed. He knew Kakashi would wish to seek guidance after this devastating realization. He wished to speak with the Sandaime to give him the full picture, so he decided he could wait a few minutes longer.

-o0o-

Kakashi was in a state of shock and despair. First he had failed to save Obito all those years ago because of his ego and scars from how his father was disgraced for doing such a thing. Then, he had failed to protect Rin from the Kiri ninja who wished to use her as a bomb to weaken Konoha via the Sanbi. After that his sensei and Kushina-nee had been forced to give up their lives to save the village. To even sacrifice their own son, burdening him with being a Jinchuuriki.

After all that, he drowned himself in his sorrows, coming alarmingly close to suicide had it not been for the then leader of his ANBU squad, Rooster. Following that disgrace, he had thrown himself into ANBU mission, barely sparing a thought as to what would become of his sensei's son. He had been young, yes, but he could have at least watched over him a few times a year.

And now this. He had failed his sensei completely. He had been proud - and scared- when Naruto had graduated in his first year like he had. He'd been able to interact with the kid openly without it being too suspicious. The boy was a little cold and cynical, but all things considered, he had turned out well. A bit more similar to himself at that age than he would've liked but it was manageable.

Now this happened. He cared little for the Uchiha, and they thought likewise of him, but they were a valuable asset to the village that could not be replaced. This would not be forgiven and harsh consequences would be dolled out on Naruto, especially because he was a Jinchuuriki. If he were captured, they'd likely rip the Kyuubi out of him. He couldn't let another of those close to him. He couldn't let this curse continue. So he resolved himself to help Naruto as best he could from the shadows. If he was too open about it, others would get suspicious and it wouldn't be long before someone put together the dots and figured out who's son he was. That would just put the kid in more danger.

He needed to find out for himself, from Naruto's own mouth, why he had done it. Then he would judge what he should do about his sensei's legacy. The first step was to convince the Sandaime to let him track Naruto, "Sandaime-sama, let me lead the team to capture Naruto."

It was not the compassionate grandfather that turned his eyes on him, but the commander that had been through countless battles and thrived. "I cannot have personal feelings getting in the way of this mission, Kakashi. Should you come across him in one of your missions, you are welcome to capture him. But I won't send you on this mission while your emotions are running high."

And it was that singular statement that shook him to his core. He couldn't even attempt to help him now. Pleading to be put on the case would only further prove Sarutobi's words right. With as composed a voice as he could manage, he responded, "As you will, Hokage-sama."

He left then, nodding to Itachi on his way out. He became nearly blind to his surroundings after that, not hearing, not seeing, only walking. An undetermined amount of time later, he found himself in front of the memorial stone he spent so much of his time at.

He dropped to his knees, tracing his fingers along the many, many names that covered this stone. He had become familiar with all of the names over the years he had spent staring at it. Some he knew, recognized from meeting them. Others, and more often, he found had died before he was born. Some names were recognizable by the fame that they had gained. Most, however, were those he didn't recognize, the unsung heroes of Konoha.

As he wept and wallowed in self pity, he felt a bump in the ground that he knew had never been there before. Despite his sorrow, he was still a highly skilled ninja. Things like this didn't change for no reason. Someone had buried something there.

He was paranoid from his time spent in ANBU, and he wouldn't allow for the chance that a bomb had been planted. Reaching for his Hitai-ate, he pulled it up to rest across his forehead and opened Obito's eye. If it was a bomb, the Sharingan would help him react quick enough to protect both himself and the stone.

It wasn't a bomb. It was a small slip of paper. Despite there only being two sentences, it might as well have been an explosion that hit him.

 _Weakness is the path of those who no longer wish to protect what is theirs. Those who wander aimlessly shall lose all that they have._

He didn't know who had written it or for what purpose, but it was in that moment that Kakashi realized something he had been guilty of since Minato-sensei died. Something that others had pointed out in their own way, but had never struck him as this piece of paper did now. Perhaps because he'd been too caught up in himself, too full of himself.

He had followed no path since Minato-sensei sealed the Kyuubi, only following orders. Going on what most labeled suicide missions, constantly for over a decade. He only ever took a break when he was bedridden or one of his superiors refused to give him a mission. He had gotten stronger in body from this, certainly, but he had no drive to actually improve himself. He had been looking for death, lamenting how he only brought death to those around him whenever a squad mate died on a mission. But never him, always someone who had more to live for.

He put on an act for those few that he could call friends, but they could see what he was doing. He'd no longer lament so much. He would focus on the little he had now and gain more. And eventually he would catch Naruto when he came to the best mental state he could be and judge his actions.

But, perhaps, before he did that, he could mourn a little more.

-o0o-

Naruto woke from his slumber suddenly and silently. Looking to the sun, he determined it was time to move. Five hours of sleep was plenty to operate on for the immediate future.

He had stayed in one place too long already. He was mildly surprised he couldn't sense any ANBU. Surely they'd had enough time to catch up with him. Though perhaps he underestimated how well he had covered his tracks. Then again, he thought, as he glanced at the sun once more in contemplation, they likely had only been dispatched about two hours ago. The explosives he left were set for eight and that would likely take up an hour of investigation before they could send out anyone with some information.

The ANBU were good at tracking, but he didn't think they'd be good enough to track him a hundred miles while dismissing all the false trails he'd left in only two hours. He likely had another hour before they arrived at this village. That would hopefully give him enough time to eliminate any trace of which direction he took.

And if not… well, he was good enough at setting up traps that they'd likely have to spend some time treating their wounds.

With that, he created a dozen clones to set up some rather nasty traps around the village while he took off towards Tani, the capital of River Country. He wasn't far from it - he could get there in under half an hour if he took the most direct path. The added time to cover his tracks added a half hour to his travel time.

When he finally arrived, he was impressed - or intrigued may have been a better word. Konoha was slightly above average size as far as villages went. But comparing any village to a capital, even of a minor country, was like comparing a grain of rice to a full sized meal. Especially considering the fact that Tani had some of the best trade in the Elemental Nations. Many of the numerous rivers that gave the country its name converged on this city. That alone gave it plenty of reason for a large city to be built.

The Land of Wind and Land of Fire had tried numerous times to annex River country because of all the trade it commanded and the strategic importance its river's held in times of war. Neither country had much success as despite River Country not having a military anywhere near as impressive as either country, other countries would come to their defense. Whether to curry favor or to spite the larger country's it didn't matter to them.

Plus, the Land of River had terrain both sides weren't used to. While there were great forests, there were considerably larger swamps - swamps he planned to take advantage of to cover his tracks. The military leaders of River knew how to use this to their advantage and had gotten rather good at pitting the two larger countries against one another to soften them before moving in.

Tani had proved many times that they had an impressive capital that would not be toppled easily. It stretched along the main river that ran through the entire country, branching off to both the Land of Fire and Wind. The river stretched out so far that there was barely half a mile from the edge of the city to another major River that ran from part of Hi no Kuni to Hanguri Gulf. He could even see a small - in comparison at least - port town further down the river.

The buildings were larger as well. The tallest building in Konoha was the Hokage Tower and that was four stories tall, most other houses were one or two stories. There were very few buildings three stories tall and most, if not all of those were apartment complexes. Of course, many places had at least one floor underground, but that wasn't his point.

The buildings here were two stories tall at the minimum. He could see a sizable number of three story buildings as well, and the tallest building he could see was eight stories.

The architecture was also slightly different than that of Konoha. Konoha had a mix of traditional Fire Country architecture of curved roofs that stopped to give a flat roof and occasional buildings with more modern cobblestone bases, in addition to the occasional building that bent around a tree.

Tani, on the other hand, had very few wooden buildings and they were obviously old - part of the city when it was still a town. Many of the buildings here were made of cobblestone and a few were even made of metal. He even spotted some buildings made with a material he vaguely remembered having been invented recently. Concrete, he believed it was called. There was very little of it in Konoha, but from what he knew it was usually somewhat course and could withstand a great deal of compression, but was not very good at withstanding tension. A good material for a building from what he understood. Especially for support pillars.

Overall, this city positively eclipsed any other town he'd ever been in.

Unfortunately, he wasn't here to sight see. In fact, he wasn't even entering the city. As curious as he was, he didn't have the time. He was here to catch a boat from the small port far to the south of River Country. Catching a ride in the city would invite far more potential witnesses with more strictly manned boats. Considering he planned on being a stowaway, it was best to catch a ride in a less secure vessel.

Aside from that, it was better that he take a ship on a less traveled river that led a more direct route to his destination. The river in the city couldn't take him as far South and it was significantly closer to Sunagakure. He wasn't overly worried about them trying to take him in because of his inevitable bounty - ninja of all villages were rather notorious for being xenophobic - but it never hurt to be cautious.

Sure Sunagakure may act all nice to civilians and even let some merchants into their walls, but he knew they constantly watched all foreigners within the limits of their not inconsiderable reach. That wasn't even mentioning if he slipped up and some Suna Nin called him out on being a ninja. Ninja were cracked down on way harder even when they were invited. So if you were caught and weren't invited to their territory so to speak, well… you should expect to be introduced to their Torture and Interrogation Unit.

He could argue that he wasn't a ninja - a warrior, ronin, or some other type of trained combatant - but there was very little chance they would care even if he faked it well enough. So no, he did not want to be near Suna. Hopefully, he could pick up enough navigation skills before he truly entered the desert to avoid wandering near the place. If he didn't, then he might as well expect it to happen with how shitty his luck was.

He sighed to himself as he entered the cargo storage area of the ship he had snuck onto. It was headed for the coast - plenty of distance needed to be covered should his ANBU tail pin down the vessel he stowed away on. He planned to get off in an area he knew was a heavy swamp. This was going to take far longer than if he had just ran, but he didn't want to exhaust himself. Plus taking a boat would be a better way to throw off his tail if his traps in that village had failed.

' _Well'_ , he thought as he swung Juuchi Yosamu off his back, ' _perhaps i can use this time to decipher some of these seals.'_

Running his hand along the beautiful sheath, he took in the seals as he turned the blade. It was only a mild annoyance to have to turn the sword to see all the seals and how they connected.

The seals that made it so only certain people could draw the blade were separate from the other seals upon it, being the only one that were drawn where the hilt met the sheath. Finally getting more than a cursory glance at the seals, he could make out a little more of what the qualifications were.

The seals judged the person who held the sword in some way. He frowned at that. He couldn't tell what exactly it judged, only that it did. He had seen very few seals that, for all intents and purposes, interacted with a person's psyche. He did not like having been in contact with that type of seal - he very much liked to keep his mind his - but he consoled himself in the fact that he could see nothing that indicated it was linked to another person. It was simply an unbiased judge.

In fact, he had only seen two seals that interacted with a person's psyche. The first had been drawn up by Sakumo as an example, being only a brief lesson because they were so rare.

The second, he had discovered on his own - on his own stomach.

The seal on his stomach that held the Nine Tails at bay was still far too complex to come close to understanding, but he could make out fragments of it. One of those parts he had noticed shortly after that lesson.

All seals that dealt with the psyche - in a given style of Fuinjutsu - started with the same base. While his style was different than Minato Namikaze's, it held a number of similarities - something he had pondered on and eventually chalked up to Konoha teaching similar styles, though he still held some doubts and theories.

So he had been able to recognize a similar base to what Sakumo had shown him in his example on his stomach. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to make out much more than that and he knew Sakumo would only have him research it himself if he brought it up, so he had been on his own. This was something that sucked quite a bit because Fuinjutsu was not only an obscure art, but often a misinterpreted one. There were not many books on advanced Fuinjutsu in Konoha - in the world really - and especially not ones he could access pertaining to a nearly unused portion of an obscure art. Anyone of any skill past that of knowing enough to copy exploding tags and not blow themselves up typically had a mentor.

His mentor, however, was an asshole and liked to make things difficult for him, so he was left to make guesses on what the seal did to him. His best guess as far as he was concerned was that it separated his conscious from that of the Fox's.

Of course, if their psyche's were separated, then that implied there was a way to make it less separated, or perhaps a way to converse with the fox. If he could glean even a fraction of the knowledge the ancient fox had undoubtebly accrued, then he would consider that a huge victory. Surely the fox had seen techniques long forgotten begin and die.

Most would call him insane for even considering trying to learn or steal knowledge from a being such as the Kyuubi. The so called embodiment of hatred with no morals or conscious aside from seeking destruction.

Naruto called those people fools. If there was a resource at your disposal, why not use it? Everything worthwhile had some risk in it. And he was cautious - he wouldn't dive head first into something like that unless he thought he had a good chance to gain something without losing himself and a few back up plans.

Besides, he theorized that the Bijuu weren't quite as mindless as many made them out to be. Digging through very sparse records and accounts of the attack - of debatable reliability - had told him that the Kyuubi _may_ have spoken some few words during the attack. More than that, the Ichibi was all but confirmed as having declared his name to be Shukaku.

If they had enough sentience to speak, then what's to say they couldn't have minds that thought just as complexly as humans? Perhaps they just saw humans as beneath them. With as much power as they had that was certainly possible - probable even if they used the typical human as their measuring scale. _Very_ few humans ever reached the level capable of besting a Bijuu alone. Only their own hubris and the monster of a man that was Hashirama Senju brought them all down from their roaming in a single generation.

His mind was wondering though. The seals on the sword. Yes, they judged a person's psyche. Perhaps to see if they had enough strength of will, likely made by someone who didn't want just any idiot trying to wield a supposedly evil blade. Those seals, ultimately were pointless to him at the moment. When he eventually decided whether or not it was worth the risk to draw it, this seal would either prevent him or it wouldn't. If it prevented him he would merely wait until he became skilled enough to disengage the seal.

For now he was more interested in the suppression seals. They were far more complex than anything he had ever seen. They did conceal or at least severely temper the blades presence, as he had initially surmised. But they did more than just conceal it. They seemed to take in whatever dark presence the blade released to fuel themselves. A rather ingenious way to keep the seal running. In addition to that, it seemed to - for a lack of better word - conceal the sword from those that could see it.

Not conceal as in hide, but make those who knew what it was and how to recognize it shy away from that train of thought. A very useful little feature indeed. Obviously it wasn't absolute and if someone got a close look at it they could override it, as proven by his recognizing the blade. Still, it would be useful to let him carry it around without others recognizing it for what it was. He would already have his hands full with bounty hunters chasing after him. He didn't need sword fanatics and possibly even entire countries after him because he practically openly declared he was in possession of a legendary sword.

Perhaps his luck wasn't _all_ bad after all. Though it had been a mistake to take this sword without thinking about how it could easily paint a huge target on his back.

Studying the seals for a few minutes longer revealed nothing too extraordinary. There were some other minimal features of the seal and some things he didn't understand, but he knew enough to be reasonably sure that the seals meant no harm. After all, you could never be 100% certain with Fuinjutsu if you couldn't completely decipher it. Even then it wasn't always a sure thing if whoever wrote the seal screwed up in a minor way.

Seals were kind of a bitch like that. Treat them right and there was nothing better. Fuck up and you could be well and truly screwed.

They were endearing like that. And a metaphor for battle.

Done examining the seals, he was sorely tempted to draw the blade. On one hand, it was unlikely drawing the sword would do any true harm. The seals were highly unlikely to harm him and aside from the stories about Muramasa's terrifying blades, he should be fine.

On the other hand, if someone had taken the time to seal off the blade, then it's presence would stand out like a beacon, and even possibly leave a trail. He couldn't take that risk now.

So he decided to leave it be for now and rummage through the cargo. Surely there was something of at least mild interest in one of these boxes.

-o0o-

Naruto was hopping through the trees in the swamp he had picked as best as he could manage. The mist and giant insects that inhabited them were not making it an easy or pleasant journey.

After he had rummaged through the cargo of the ship and found nothing of any interest, he had set about meditating. It was a relaxing exercise that both calmed him and sharpened his mind. That extra focus, he thought, would be useful once he left the boat. He had yet to sense any pursuers, but now they had had ample time to have traversed the necessary distance. It would only be a matter of how well he had covered his tracks and how much damage his traps had done that would determine the time it would take for them to catch up.

It had taken an excruciating six hours to travel roughly 70 miles of river. Even after reasoning out his plan, the extra time it took to travel such a short distance did nothing good for his nerves.

Now he could travel on his own two feet again, he felt a touch more at ease. And travelling through this swamp would give him the greatest chance of losing any trackers. Not only was this swamp notorious for being quite hostile to life, but it was also confirmed to have various beasts living inside it. He could only guess at what these beasts were from the stories he had heard. A number of these stories he came by either second hand or by eavesdropping on a civilian and civilians tended to be unreliable in these types of matters.

Some even claimed that this swamp housed some of the few demons that popped up every once in awhile. While he felt that had a low probability, he held out some hope of it. Demons were rare and he wanted a look at one in person.

Still, from what he could tell, it was similar to the Forest of Death in that it held creatures far larger and far more vicious than the norm in addition to mutated animals. So far he had only run into giant bugs, and while annoying, they were no threat. He had heard some loud cracks, so he knew something big was out there, it just wasn't near him. And however much he wanted to explore, observing the creatures of this swamp was a secondary objective.

Finally, after a half hour of traversing the swamp and covering his tracks, he felt something was wrong. He hadn't seen a single giant creature since entering the forest. Sure he could write it off as superstitions getting the better of people, but there were just too many tales to be flat out false. Plus, he _had_ heard very loud cracks that likely came from enormous beasts. He just hadn't many. It was almost as if they were trying to hide.

He frowned at that thought. These enormous beasts should be alpha predators in this place. Unless an outside force or an infrequent and very intimidating predator emerged there should be no reason for them to act this way. Taking in his surroundings more closely he got even more suspicious. The number of bugs flying around were far less than he had initially seen. Hopefully that meant he was closing in on the area that they feared being near.

Perhaps an interesting area to look into as a potential diversion. Perhaps -

Naruto frowned. The mist was getting thicker. He was on high alert in an instant, funneling chakra to his ears and stretching his senses as far as he could while keeping up his pace. Something was not right here.

It took him over half a minute of searching before he could say he was being followed for sure. He didn't like it. It had been a long time since someone had nearly evaded his senses once he put nearly all of his focus into searching his surroundings. This being had to have been following him for at least a bit of time undetected. Whatever was following him likely didn't have any particular desire to kill him since it hadn't attacked.

From what he could sense after pinning down its location more accurately, it was more likely he was being observed by a curious onlooker rather than an assassin. Not one intent on killing him in any case. He still couldn't completely nail down their position, but he could tell they were close, following him slightly to his right.

And now the mist was getting very thick. He could barely see a few feet in front of him at this point. He needed to change course. He was good at fighting blind, but he doubted he could outright beat whoever was following him in these conditions considering they were likely responsible for the change.

Then the choice was taken from him as a blast of high intensity wind was shot at him.

He was able to dodge rather easily - Sakumo had subjected him to sudden ambushes numerous times in the past. ' _Still'_ , he thought as he looked in the direction the attack had come from, ' _that was a fairly powerful attack for being built up so quickly. I heard at least three trees fall.'_ He could only match and surpass a blast of wind like that if he had a bit of prep time. That didn't inspire any confidence he'd had in his chances here. He kept his senses sharp, but his opponent seemed intent on waiting for his response to the attack. Well if they wanted to give him the chance to prepare, who was he to deny them?

Deciding that a big distraction was needed to set up anything meaningful, he released the full brunt of his considerable chakra, flooding the area. This served two purposes - to gauge his opponents reaction and, more importantly, infuse his chakra into the mist so he could take control of it.

His opponent didn't seem impressed if his lack of reaction was any indication. That was fine with him. Hubris had led to many defeats - he could attest to that personally, his eye was a constant reminder.

Flipping through hand signs at a rapid pace, he slammed his hands onto the ground, forcing up both walls and spikes.

This didn't seem to deter the man at all, merely backhanding any spikes that neared his body. This man, unsurprisingly, had some rather significant physical strength. Physical strength alone didn't determine who would win a Taijutsu exchange, but it typically correlated with someone at least decently skilled. Plus, despite his own insane strength relative to his age, he knew he couldn't match this man.

But that hadn't been the point of the spikes and walls. They were to give him cover to both create clones and traps. For now, he'd prefer he kept the man from getting bored or annoyed with his hiding. That might cause him to blow the entire field away. So he hopped out from the cover of the Earth wall and sent out a hail of shuriken, further enhanced by both wind and his use of _**Kage Shuriken Bunshin.**_ A veritable wall of metal popped into existence and rained down on the man who merely lifted a hand and let a tornado kick up around his arm, tearing the shuriken apart.

That showing gave Naruto reason to be quite a bit more nervous. There were not many shinobi who could just gesture and create a jutsu - especially one of such power. In fact, he knew of less than a dozen shinobi currently alive who could or were highly rumored to be able to create a jutsu of equal or greater power with a mere gesture.

Five of them were the Kage.

From what he'd seen so far he didn't think this guy was near the level of the Kage, but to be able to control wind like that… He was either a savant or he was not a shinobi.

Magicians didn't use hand signs, right? Still, from the little information he had been able to obtain on them, they used magic circles - whatever that meant. Regardless, he was pretty sure this guy wasn't using magic circles. He could look into it later. For now, he needed to dodge, dodge, Dodge!

The whirlwind of, well, wind that came at him cut through the meager earth barriers and spikes in its way as if they were leaves.

Then the cloaked man spoke, "Disappointing. After what I sensed I thought you'd be at least a little more capable. Where's that power I sense buried beneath what you use now?"

Buried beneath what he used now? What the hell did that mean?

He continued before he could think more on it, "If you won't bring out that demonic power, then I suppose you aren't worth as much as I thought if this is the extent of your power."

The world seemed to freeze at that moment, realization striking like lightning. This man could sense the Kyuubi.

From what he had gathered, no one he had ever met could actually sense it. Not even Sakumo, and he had flat out asked once, concerned about whether or not it could compromise him. Sakumo might not specialize or be a natural sensor, but he was still damn good. Probably better than almost anyone in Konoha.

The only time he himself had sensed the Kyuubi was when in deep meditation, and even then he could only sense it half the time he actively looked. A testament to the Yondaime's seal that it could keep a being of the Kyuubi's power locked up so well.

In recent years he had felt its presence strengthen marginally, but he supposed that was to be expected from Kyuubi, especially without anyone to keep the seal strong.

Regardless, the fact that this guy could sense it either meant he was naturally attuned to sense the Beast's presence somehow or he was a phenomenal sensor. He was leaning more towards the former despite not knowing how he could be attuned to sense it. This was because the number of sensors in Konoha that were good enough to do so without assistance numbered on one hand - maybe one finger.

He then focused on the other part of the man's statement, of how he wasn't worth as much as he thought. That meant he wanted to capture him, not that he had been confronted to be killed. And if his actions thus far were anything to go by, it wasn't because of his actions against the Uchiha - it was of personal interest for another group.

This could work for him. The man seemed to think little of him, so a surprise from his clones would work more easily. Alternatively, if he couldn't put the man down permanently or for long enough to run, hopefully his showing would be enough for his attacker to decide not to kill him.

Then the world started again as the man dashed towards him, wind whipping around his arm. "Zoom," he said as he accelerated. He was fast, but Naruto could keep up with just his normal eye. And with his Sharingan he could react easily.

Casting a quick disorientation Genjutsu, he slid under the man's legs, flipping through hand seals as he did. Finishing the set, he sub-vocalized the name of his jutsu as he came up behind him, ' _ **Sesatsu Suisho.'**_

Suddenly, the previously thick mist vanished and in its place were a thousand water needles soaring towards the cloaked man. With those needles came a gust of wind that surpassed what he had first been attacked with, striking the man straight through four enormous trees.

Immediately thereafter, two Naruto suicide clones fell on him and blew up in a spectacular explosion. Not willing to wait and see if his enemy was put down for good, Naruto left a few clones to pepper the cloud of dust and mud with wind enhanced kunai and shuriken while he got the hell out of there.

' _Well I might as well have stuck a sign to my back that told the world I'm a wanted man and walk through Tani for all the subtlety that fight had.'_ Before he could continue that line of sarcastic thought, he had to substitute himself with a log to prevent being cut in half as memories of his clones' fiery deaths filtered back.

"Well shit."

The previously cloaked man landed across from him on a branch, sporting only mild injuries. The worst he had was a light gash running from the center of his chest to his shoulder with some light burns. This gave Naruto his first chance to get a good look at his opponent. Naruto saw that it was not in fact a man, but a beast with a humanoid shape. It had brown fur covering its body barring its shoulders, which were black, almost as if he were wearing pauldrons. Also odd was the fact that this beast-man had hair as a human would - dirty blond in color, spiky, untamed, and long enough to reach its waist.

Oddly enough, the beast seemed concerned with modesty as it was wearing a pair of black pants that came just over his knees. And on the bottom of them, there was a bronze metal with a black symbol on it, almost resembling an upside down hook.

The beast spoke to him again, "It seems I was wrong in my initial assessment. You are not entirely weak. Perhaps you could be of some use."

Deciding that diplomacy was his best option as fighting had proven to be ineffective, he replied with a question, "Be of some use how?"

The beast eyed him as if he were assessing his worth, though he replied, "My Master is always looking for strong subordinates. You are not strong now, but I see potential," He paused for a moment and Naruto resisted the urge to snarl. He was _not_ weak. This man merely outclassed him. The man continued, heedless of Naruto's anger, "especially if you release that power I sense."

Naruto sensed the question in the declaration and gave a vague reply, "That power you sense is locked away. I do not know how to access it at the moment," The man was not pleased by his answer, but he at least seemed curious instead of furious. Deciding to test the waters, he asked a question of his own, "I have never met anyone who could sense it before you. How can you?"

The beast gave him a piercing stare before also giving a vague answer, "I am somewhat experienced in sensing demonic presences."

Naruto frowned at that. Sakumo had made sure he knew of most of the Jinchuuriki so he could avoid them if he ever ran into one. They had the best chance of being able to sense the Kyuubi as far as he knew. But this beast couldn't be one. For one, he didn't recognize this beast. Secondly, and more importantly, this beast didn't seem to recognize that he held a Bijuu or possibly even knew what a Bijuu was - only that it was demonic in nature. And now that he wasn't focused on other things, such as fighting, he could sense this beast had a bit of a demonic feel to him...

Naruto pulled his attention away from his thoughts. He could think later. Negotiations were more pressing.

"Well, I may be inclined to join your ranks if you told me what your goal is."

The beast narrowed his eyes at him. Perhaps he had overstepped his bounds. Luckily, after a few more seconds of silence, it answered, "Our goals are of no concern to you. Merely know that should you be deemed fit to join us, you will gain power and knowledge as you wish as long as you complete the missions you are assigned."

Well that sounded enticing. More so at least than death, imprisonment, or slavery. And he didn't much care what this beast was fighting to attain, only that he lived. Besides, if this beast was any indication, then its group could provide protection from Konoha.

Keeping that, as well as the fact that he'd almost certainly die if he resisted in mind, he gave a Sakumo-esque reply, "Well lead the way, Commander." The beast only seemed to take mild offense to that, but started hopping from tree to tree all the same.

Deciding to fish for a little more harmless information on the way to the base, he made some idle conversation, "So, you got a name, or should I just call you Commander?"

He took some petty pleasure at the displeased look on the beast's face. It answered all the same, "I have no name. But the humans call me Calamity, so you may call me Tempester."

* * *

 _Well that took longer than I thought. Still, this is longer than should be typical so enjoy. All feedback is welcome and any questions you have, just send my way. Also, if you didn't connect an image to who this character is - it's Tempester from Fairy Tail, the first of the crossover's I'm introducing. Now I'm off to bed._


	3. Travels

**Note:** I aged up the characters. I think I referenced it in my unfinished prologue, but I believe I aged them up about 3 years, though this may vary for a few characters. Events, average graduation age and the like have similarly been moved up.

A beta would be welcome.

 **Chapter 3: Travels**

"Pure instinct can only get you so far. To understand your own power as well as your opponent's is essential to achieve victory on grand scales." _\- Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

"What do you mean you didn't even encounter him! How did most of you come back injured then!"

The ANBU in front of him hung their heads in shame. The squad leader, Tora, mustered the guts to look him in the eyes as he gave his report, "Sir, we tracked him as ordered. He was reasonably competent at throwing us off his tracks, but inexperienced. We eventually found where we thought he was holed up, in a small village just into River Country, but…" the ANBU lost a bit of his courage and trailed off.

The Sandaime wasn't having any of it as he glared at Tora, "Well? Spit it out."

Tora almost gulped. "Despite warnings of the target's skill, we underestimated him. He had set up traps in and around the village that left us injured."

Sarutobi's eye was twitching by now. "You mean to tell me that after I specifically warned you to not underestimate him, you did just that?"

Tora dropped his head, "Yes, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen let out a puff of smoke as he fired off his next question, "Well what did you do with all the extra time you had? It has been three days. It should not have taken three days to go to River and back, even with wounded."

Tora picked his head up again and answered, "We spent the time treating any injuries, then continuing the mission. We tracked him as far as Tani before we lost him. We know which port he took a boat from, but we don't know where he abandoned ship."

Sarutobi let out an aggravated sigh and waved his hand, "Out," he said. They did so without hesitation, leaving their leader to his thoughts. Turning in his chair to look over his beloved village, Sarutobi couldn't help but wonder why he was the one that had to deal with this shit.

Three days was long enough that the council and the people would really start hounding him for a culprit to paint a target on. He was the Hokage, sure, but a leader without the trust of his people was only a tyrant. He kept plenty of secrets, but this was one that he could not hide in his closet already full of skeletons. Someone would eventually put together who it was once they realized Naruto was no longer in the village. He'd rather announce it than let others put such a revelation together and lose face.

That left the question of exactly what to do. The council would be divided on this situation. Some would want to keep it a secret because he was their Jinchuuriki and they couldn't let it get out. Other, more hot headed members, would see a threat and want it eliminated regardless of the price.

Right now, they were in precarious situation. If the other nations found out that it was their Jinchuuriki that had gone rogue, then it was only a matter of time until war. There weren't too many years left before the other nations - Iwa specifically - were back up to pre Third Great Shinobi War strength. Konoha wasn't, for a variety of reasons.

First and foremost was the fact that the youth had grown arrogant and complacent in this relative peace. They had grown up hearing of how they had never lost any of the Great Wars. Tales from a proud generation, hoping to instill awe in the youngsters and only promoting complacency. As a result, they neglected to think of the reasons that Konoha had won.

The First was won through a combination of a dying Hashirama Senju facing an army alone, Tobirama Senju single handedly eliminating the most dangerous force in that war, the Kinkaku Force, and finally, the shinobi of that day being a cut above the rest.

The Second's victory was contributed to a great deal by Uzushiogakure taking down a good chunk of the forces that attacked them. The other was the rise of his students, the Sannin, and Sakumo Hatake.

As for the Third, to the public it was almost entirely Minato who won it at the end. Minato certainly took the spotlight, but Kushina Uzumaki, himself, and a few others had contributed a great deal.

For all Konoha's talk of being the strongest, at the moment, they were actually on the weaker end. On average, the Genin and Chunin they produced were of lower quality than the other Great nations, in part because of the civilians whining for him to lower standards in wake of the fear for those young lives brought about by the Kyuubi. With no true proving ground for the young to gain scars and experience, the apparent necessity for great strength had faded.

For all of Konoha's talk in recent years, it was mostly due to a few exceptional individuals that they had claimed their spot on top. Because however much they may deny it, many of their ninja were sub par. The only exceptions to this rule were the ANBU and Jonin. He refused to have any Jonin anything less than average and even that grated on his nerves.

If a war were to erupt, Konoha had little chance of surviving. Itachi was a rising star, but he was still a boy and not yet ready to take on an army. Other than him and Kakashi, no one had shown outstanding skill. There weer a few who were a cut above the rest, just not any who had shown themselves to be several cuts above the rest as those two had. The clan heads were all quite skilled, but few, if any, had the potential to take down an army. Shikaku, for example, was a damn good strategist, but he wouldn't ever be a one man army.

So he faced the same problem he had faced years ago when he first released the identity of their troublemaker of a Jinchuuriki. Then he had to do a double fake out to prevent the village and the village's enemies from finding out Naruto's ancestors. Now he had to prevent their enemies from finding out Naruto was a Jinchuuriki if they didn't know already.

So he would put Naruto in the Bingo Book as promised with a high reward for bringing him in alive and only half that for bringing him in dead. He'd much prefer the boy alive and have no reward for dead, but that would draw too much attention. Very few people ever put in the Bingo Book held no reward for a corpse and those that didn't always sent up red flags.

His plan in mind, he called a meeting and made plans to subtly spread the message of who was responsible for the Uchiha Massacre and to have the people keep somewhat of a lid on it. He'd prefer it if some of the more dim ones didn't announce to the world that their Jinchuuriki was gone.

-o0o-

Naruto was sitting in the room his new allies had assigned him in meditation, contemplating his new situation. He had traded one collar for another, albeit one with more resources and a longer chain, but a collar all the same.

When he had met Tempester's master, the man exuded confidence, bordering on the point of arrogance. Of course he could sense his immense power, but it was annoying all the same.

The man had also talked down to him with subtle insults - calling him human as an insult. This lead to his belief that no one in this place was human despite what some may appear to be. This belief was further compounded by the name of their elite. The Nine Demon Gates.

His excitement at finding demons was heightened and then tempered by the fact that these weren't traditional demons he had read about and that he had been strong armed into working for them. In contrast to typical demons, they were very intelligent and half of the Nine Demon Gates had very humanoid appearances. The others varying widely in appearance from what he gleaned from one of the grunts and his own observations. Demons had never been recorded to have humanoid appearances in all the books he had read.

Lastly, from what he had sensed of the members he'd met, they didn't have the typical demon feel to their energy. It had a 'dark' quality to it, sure, but it wasn't nauseating or 'hollow' as he'd heard it described. It was hard to put into words what anyone 'felt' like, but all his sources had agreed on one of those two terms (or similar ones at least). With no deviation, he felt it prudent to trust that fact.

Regardless, he had played the game of words with the master, and the man/thing seemed amused at their banter. The man had eventually decided that he would be a fitting free agent of sorts - kept at base unless he had a mission, and commander to the grunts they kept around if the base was attacked. His only superiors were the Nine Demon Gates. The master apparently found him intriguing enough to keep around.

Looking at his situation objectively, though, he had come out quite good. Most importantly, he no longer needed to worry about Konoha or any bounty hunters - at least while in the base. In addition to that, it sounded like he would be free to do as he pleased and access much of the knowledge they had. He hadn't had the chance to do so yet, but he believed there would be some very useful things he couldn't find in Konoha.

From what he had gleaned from when their leader, Mard Geer, was talking with him, he may also be working with some of the Demon Gates. If Tempester was any indication, he figured that he could learn much from them, even if he could only observe them.

On the negative side, he had a collar once more. He didn't much fancy the idea of having to bend to the whims of others. He was more of a free spirit and leader after seeing how the sheep of Konoha acted and his time in a Genin squad.

Other than that and his suspicion of his new allies intentions, he saw no significant down sides. So he swallowed his pride and decided to make the best of his situation. The library would be a good place to start. Hopefully that would give him some answers. If not, well… hopefully he could get some answers from the grunts or perhaps even a Demon Gate.

-o0o-

A man was sitting in a cave, contemplating the information he had just received. The Uchiha clan, or most of it at least, was dead by Uzumaki Naruto's hand. No one knew how he pulled it off, only that he had.

A number of people were still skeptical of those claims, but he seemed the most likely suspect with all the evidence pointing towards him and his sudden disappearance. This man didn't exactly care what skeptics thought of the potential culprit. He cared about what others might think. Other villages would either take it as a Konoha prodigy gone mad, or - more likely - point to it and take jabs at the Leaf to try to make it a laughing stock.

It never looked good when an entire clan was killed. Even less so when it was by one person who was a member of that village. And a clan as prestigious as the Uchiha taken down by a single child? Ridiculous.

The other villages would no doubt prod for more information and test the borders to check Konoha's strength. With what he knew of their current force, he was afraid of what they'd find. The others weren't entirely prepared for war themselves, but if Konoha looked too weak… they might just decide to strike.

He could not allow that to happen. Standing up, he started to walk deeper into the cave. The cave started to glow with a dim light the further he went, eventually illuminating the area enough to see clearly.

The man with bright blonde hair brushed his hand along the face of a beautiful woman with crimson hair who looked to be in a coma. Then, he spoke, and the woman's form glowed in a faint light, "It's time to wake up and meet your daughter, Kushi-chan. Konoha needs your strength." With that said, a portal appeared to the man's side and he stepped through it, disappearing.

-o0o-

Kushina Uzumaki was a simple, if fiery woman. She loved ramen, her family, and life. She hated Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo. Mostly Kumo.

Despite this simplicity, she had grown clever. From her personal experiences to the lessons Mito taught her to the fall of her homeland. From all of this, she had learned the hard way to prepare for the worst.

And so she had. When she had gotten pregnant, it was simultaneously the happiest day of her life and set into motion the most stress filled months of her life. For with the child - children - she would bear came the threat of someone releasing the Kyuubi, and thus her death. So she had looked far and wide for ways to prevent her death should the worst happen. In the end, she hadn't found a true solution until the time was upon her and the worst had happened.

She found it in a place that was closest to her all along, though this solution came at a price. The deal was with the damn Fox she was meant to contain.

The price: time and her humanity.

She had taken it in an instant. She didn't know why the fox cared to offer her such a deal when it would be freed. She suspected it was some sick, twisted joke it played on her to see her rage at becoming what she had hated, if only partially.

She didn't really care now. She only cared that she would get to see her children.

Then, for the first time in over a decade, Kushina Uzumaki opened her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was that she was in a dimly lit cave. The second was that her muscles didn't feel sore, nor did they feel deteriorated. In fact, she thought as she clenched her fists, she almost felt stronger. Sitting up, she looked at her surroundings, noting that the dim light was coming from seals. Other than that, the cavern she was in was bare, barring a passage and a solitary scroll on the ground.

Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, she approached the scroll. She knew not how she got here, but she assumed someone had cared enough to not kill her, if not give her aid outright. She picked up the scroll, subconsciously checking for traps - old habits were hard to shake - and opened it. What was written changed and shattered her world.

 _Kushina,_

 _I've had to keep you unconscious for 11 years now. I must wake you now with a request and bad news._

 _Our son, he has exterminated nearly all the Uchiha. Konoha is now in serious threat of entering another war severely under prepared. So I must ask you to take our daughter and go to Konoha to prevent it. Your fame will prevent or postpone a war._

 _I apologize for what I've done, but I cannot regret my decision. I have already told Kyoko that I must leave and you will nurture her in my place. Hate me all you want, but I beg you to heed my last wish, for if you don't, only death will await you when you are found to still take breath._

 _Signed,_

 _Minato Namikaze_

Kushina dropped the paper, her hands shaking, barely noticing as the parchment burned to ashes.

Eleven years.

Eleven _years._

She had missed over a decade of her children's lives. Their most formative years. And from what the letter said, _Minato_ had a hand in extending the time she was unconscious.

Anger burned in her heart, but her brain, hardened from war, worked on the information she had been presented. Her son, Naruto, had killed the Uchiha.

He was only eleven.

Pride for her son was only overshadowed by the fact that _his_ letter had implied that he'd had no contact with Naruto. And also the fact that Mikoto was more than likely dead. Her mind ran through multiple scenarios in which that was the end result. Then the memories of her final moments of consciousness hit her.

She came to a startling, or perhaps not so startling, conclusion. Naruto was a Jinchuuriki. Jinchuuriki were not understood or well liked by almost anyone, much less a general populace who longed for a scapegoat to blame their losses on. Jinchuuriki weren't treated well even if the immediate generation hadn't personally experienced the terror of a Bijuu attack first hand. Konoha had. It was almost guaranteed someone would find out about his status and persecute him.

If he lived a hard life, then he would do as all Uzumaki did best. Adapt and thrive. That meant a hardy body and a cunning mind.

She hated Konoha for what it almost certainly did to her son.

But she also loved it for her friends and the home it had become after Uzushiogakure's destruction.

She didn't really want to head back there with what the letter insinuated. Especially with her daughter, who was also the Jinchuuriki of the Yin half of the Kyuubi, but she didn't have much choice. For all that Minato had seemed to do and change while she was unconscious, he hadn't lost his sharp mind and silver tongue. She knew she couldn't exactly stick it out with her daughter alone. She might be a damn good shinobi, but she was never great at stealth or subtlety. Her personality just didn't agree with it. She was always one to get into the thick of the action. The few seduction and infiltration missions she had been assigned had not gone smoothly.

She could always hide in the woods and never get caught, but again, she hated being left out. Plus that was a cruel fate to force onto a child. Which is why Minato knew she'd pick going to Konoha over staying in the shadows. She had nowhere else to go.

That didn't mean she had to like it. She could take her time getting to Konoha.

' _And,'_ she thought in irritation as something soft brushed against her arm, ' _I can brush up on my Genjutsu before we get there to hide this damnable tail, so I won't be attacked on the spot.'_

Stupid Kyuubi.

-o0o-

It had been a month since he had allied himself with the 'guild' Tartaros. So far he had enjoyed quite a bit of freedom. Outside of having to redesign the guard and watch rotation to be more efficient and unpredictable, he had nothing demanded of him.

He had used the time he had been given to explore this building, observe the grunts, and gather some of the knowledge this place offered.

Overall, the building - he called it that tentatively - was nearly a labyrinth. Good for confusing any infiltrators. There were many winding passages. In fact, there were so many connecting in such odd positions that he eventually came to the conclusion that this place produced its own gravitational field. As he had gathered from minutely sloping paths, he was travelling in more ways than a simple building would allow. It was odd to say the least.

It was also impressive. To be able to have a localized gravity system so contained was no easy feat. He hadn't experimented much with anything gravity related, but he knew it was finicky. There were many things you had to take into account when creating a field as advanced as this one less you end up accidentally creating a black hole.

That was not good for anyone.

After his memorization of most of the passages, he had set about spying on the grunts of Tartaros. They were odd. Many were fanatical worshipers of someone called Zeref. He had never heard of this person. The only things he had heard from the grunts was that the man was an overwhelmingly powerful mage born a few centuries ago. A man that was supposedly still living and the goal of Tartaros. Of course the Demon Gates would only let them know the bare minimum to entice them into joining and remaining loyal.

There were, of course those who were more reserved and he kept his eyes on those ones. Some of them were odd even among the oddities that were these fanatics. All of the grunts had a similar 'flavor' of energy as the Demon Gates, only it was more twisted and artificial. As if it wasn't what their power was originally. He brushed it off for now, not having the ability to question it.

The oddities among them were the few that smelled heavily of death, almost to the point of decay. It wasn't the smell of one who had drenched themselves in blood, but almost the smell of a corpse. It was as intriguing as it was bizarre.

His last excursion in search of knowledge he had found to be the most useful and interesting. These demons had amassed quite the library and he had learned much from it in the short time he was here. For one, they had many books detailing Magic and some sort of branch off that these demons used called Curses. There were apparently many types of magic, so many in fact that it even outstripped what he knew Jutsu to be capable of. Though from what he could tell there were also Jutsu that could accomplish things magic couldn't.

That was another thing. Magic and Chakra were not the same thing. They had similar properties, but for one, chakra had pathways that ran through the body - magic did not. In addition to that, complete exhaustion of magic reserves did not mean instant death as it did for those with chakra. At worst it caused or exacerbated some health problems.

Magic, and by extension, Curses, also didn't require a magic circle all of the time. They acted similarly to the purpose of hand signs. They weren't required, but they made things significantly easier, especially unfamiliar techniques. Though apparently in some more esoteric or powerful spells, not only was it required, it was the circles themselves that did the magic. That made no sense. The energy for it had to come from somewhere. It was just not investigated properly as to where that energy came from. His guess was the Earth. These special magic circles probably acted in a similar way to how a Sage would draw Chakra from the planet to supplement their own.

On that note, magic circles seemed to act, in some cases, similar to how Fuinjutsu could be utilized to accomplish a certain feat. Despite this, the magic community had their own system of Fuinjutsu called Runes, though they seemed to operate differently with different styles. Some styles were more suited toward combat, while others were more geared towards barriers and setting up conditions. He hadn't learned much beyond the basics of Runes, though as he had only found a book on the very basics of them.

In addition to books regarding various magics, he had found a map of another continent. It seemed like a somewhat large continent, though he couldn't verify that because there was no scale. Idiots. Who drew a map with no scale? The continent was called Ishgar and there were many countries listed on it. What drew his attention most though, was the fact that one country, Fiore was circled. It was also the only country that had a labeled capital, Crocus, and something called Fairy Tail (both drawn in).

He couldn't find anything more on either subject aside from a closer up map of Crocus. It was an impressive city from what little the map showed. Regardless, this presented him with the fact that either these demons weren't from this continent or had visited the one on the map.

That was one of the more useful and interesting pieces of information he had gathered. Few had crossed any of the seas and returned. It was becoming slightly more common now as technology advanced, but it was rare enough that when it happened, rumors spread like wildfire. To know that he had access to information unable to be found in the whole of the Elemental Nations made him nearly shake in glee.

The other thing he had noticed when in the library was the abundance of fictional books. There were likely more fictional books than informational ones. While he could enjoy books of any kind, he preferred practical ones. But since he'd been here, he'd seen very few come by the library, and those that did left quickly. So that begged the question of just why there would be so many.

He found out only a few days before his first month of being here. Apparently, one of the Demon Gates was quite partial to reading, especially fictional books. He'd observed her when she had entered and kept his eye on her throughout his research. No need to offend someone with such influence and power.

The woman/demon was beautiful by anyone's definition. He cared little for looks aside from using them to benefit himself, but even he could recognize her beauty. She had long black hair that extended to her lower back. She wore a light blue kimono top that had black spots on it, extending to about her mid thigh. In addition to that, she had three areas heavily tattooed. The first was her forehead that had what seemed to be an oval, only the top was disconnected and the middle had a dot, while it was surrounded by another four dots to its right.

The other tattoos she had were the same, adorning both her shoulders. They had a thick line leading into a half circle facing up with another, smaller curved line on its outside. Inside the half circle, there was an oval with two dots, almost lines, above it.

The black of her tattoos stood out even more by the fact that her skin was pale.

If it were not for the two large, golden-bronze horns protruding from her head, she would look completely human. He had yet to interact with her, but he had seen her in the library everyday since she had apparently returned from a mission.

From what he had observed, she was slightly more tolerant of the grunts than the rest of the Demon Gates. He planned to greet her and slowly increase conversation from there during the next few weeks. Even if she didn't particularly take well to him, he could learn a lot merely by observing reactions.

It was a balancing game of risk and reward, one he had long become a master of. For now, he was content being a lackey of these Demons, but he'd eventually find a chink in their armor to allow him to break away. So he would bide his time - training and waiting for the day that he could escape.

His musing was interrupted by a knock on his door. "What is it," he grunted.

The voice on the other side responded in a disdainful tone, "Master wishes to speak with you," immediately following the message, he heard footsteps leading off. That was another thing. The grunts were not all that receptive to making the new guy the commander - especially a kid. He normally wouldn't care too much, but he'd prefer avoiding a brawl that could lead to his death. He should probably try to remedy that soon. Perhaps by organizing a tournament of some kind.

That was for later though. Mard Geer wanted him for something for once and he was curious. Taking a leisurely pace towards the room he had first met Mard Geer in, he arrived in barely over a minute. Sitting on his throne of sorts, the demon looked arrogant. That arrogance was well founded from what he could sense.

Mard Geer smiled patronizingly at him as he entered. It made him want to strangle the man. "Ah, Commander," he emphasized almost mockingly, "I have need of your talents. There is a tomb of sorts I wish for you to explore."

The black haired man kept his gaze on him, not offering anything more. Naruto withheld an annoyed twitch. "Well, I suppose I could blindly search for the specific tomb you're looking for, but I might be gone awhile," he replied scathingly.

Mard Geer was only more amused, though he did offer an answer, "Mard Geer has had the information prepared for you. You will find all you need in your quarters."

Naruto withheld a scowl at that. He had trapped his room somewhat extensively. It was annoying to know that whoever Mard Geer had sent was likely able to circumvent them. Though he consoled himself with the fact that it was likely one of the Demon Gates relegated to that demeaning task.

He sketched the barest of bows with a muttered, "It will be done," before walking back to his quarters.

It didn't take him long after that to head out. He always kept anything important in quick to grab packages. The mission he'd been tasked with was to go through this unnamed tomb, bring back anything useful, and record anything odd. Nothing too outlandish, though with his luck he didn't doubt something would go wrong.

It was located to the west, along the cost of wind country, about twenty miles inland, located along one of the few short rivers along its coast. Unfortunately, the best path to it was about a 400 mile trek. Normally even that wouldn't be too bad. Two things made this difficult: one was the fact that he wanted to be discrete. Suna was fairly close to River's border, and while he would be taking the southernmost route into Wind Country, shinobi could patrol a lot of land. It was unlikely he'd be caught by a stray patrol, but the possibility existed.

The second, and more annoying obstacle was one he thought he had avoided. The desert. Wind Country wasn't all desert of course, but it might as well have been. Getting close to the coast was a risk as well since he would draw attention. A person running at speeds not seen outside shinobi, the most elite samurai, and the rare mage was bound to be reported. He would have to stick mostly to the desert.

While he had been glad to avoid the desert when he joined up with Tartaros, he had been conscious enough to know that knowing how to navigate the desert would be a useful skill. So he had taken a little time to learn exactly that. Emphasis on the little time part. There was so much new stuff available to him that he had put it off. It hadn't seemed immediately necessary. Now he was probably fucked.

He estimated about a 30% chance of getting lost in the desert. He didn't like those odds, but he had worked with worse.

-o0o-

Jiraiya of the Sannin, despite his eccentricities, was typically quite capable of controlling his emotions. After all, you didn't become a shinobi of his level without being able to keep level headed. Especially if you were a Sage, however incomplete. One was required to be calm to use even a tiny bit of the Chakra of the World. Still, there was only so much he could take, especially considering he had always been the most expressive of his teammates.

After having found out that he had failed Minato's son, forcing him to fend for himself and finally leading to the near extinction of the Uchiha, he was devastated. Logically, he knew that he couldn't have done anything about it. A Sannin taking in a random kid? There would be too many questions and it would have put a huge target on the kids back if he had taken the boy.

Regardless, emotions could sometimes get the best of even the greatest shinobi. He may not have been a big fan of the Uchiha, especially with how suspicious he had heard they'd been acting, but they were still part of the Leaf. Whatever his reason for doing it, publicly the kid was enemy number one.

For now at least. People tended to remember what was more recent better. If the kid kept a low profile and he found some of Orochimaru's work, that snake might be elevated back up to enemy number one.

Then, two weeks after he had calmed down enough to not drown himself in sake and set his spies to work in finding Naruto, Kushina and her daughter had popped up back in Konoha. He hadn't even known Kushina was set to have twins! And there was no way they weren't twins with the reports of what she looked like.

So now, he had to decide if he could put up with Kushina beating his ass to get some answers. She would not be pleased that he'd left her son in Konoha to fend for himself, regardless of what reasoning he applied.

Eventually, he decided he deserved a beating anyway and he _needed_ some answers. Besides, now seeing what happened to Naruto, he figured it was time to start taking his job as godfather seriously.

-o0o-

Absolute Zero, previously known as Silver Fullbuster, despised the Demons of Tartaros he was forced to work under. However, he also knew that should he rebel, it would only result in his meaningless death (Second death really). He wouldn't even take one of the damned Demon Gates out. If the one who had brought him back from the dead, Keyes, didn't merely restrain him, then he would certainly get thrashed by one of the more powerful Gates.

With no other choice, he bid his time, always looking for subtle ways to annoy the others without incurring their wrath. He may hate them for what they did, but he had a level head and a vindictive side. So when Mard Geer had told him to watch over the new kid he'd brought in for some reason, he was curious and looking for ways to satisfy his curiosity. It was no secret, after all, that Mard Geer hated humans. For him to allow one into Tartaros, and put him in charge of the cannon fodder no less, well he must be something.

Though it was rather distressing to imagine what kind of circumstances could've forced a child to become strong enough to garner the interest of Mard Geer. Mages might start training at a young age, but none of them would've gained the master's interest unless the child was truly unique.

He couldn't sense anything too special within the child. Granted, he wasn't the best at sensing, but he was more than passable by most standards. The only thing remotely unique that he could sense about him was the sheer reserves he had. It was impressive in anyone, especially a child.

Still, that wouldn't be nearly enough to sway Mard Geer. He may present himself as the patient strategist, but the monster was rather impatient when it came to results. If this kid had a unique ability, he certainly couldn't sense it. If his uniqueness was buried that deep, it was unlikely Mard Geer would even bother. Since Mard Geer was bothering with this in spite of his somewhat typical energy signature, the kid had to be skilled in combat. Very skilled considering his age. And now having followed him for the better part of a week, he had seen first hand some of what he could do.

The kid was impressive and knew his stuff. Most obvious was the fact that the kid was fast. Way faster than anything he'd seen someone of that age pull. Nothing too impressive to him, but he was a grown man and fairly powerful on top of that.

The next was that the kid was scary good at stealth. Hell, he could barely detect the kid once he had suppressed his presence after he left the base.

What impressed him more; however, was his intelligence. The only thing he knew about the kid previously was that he was running from someone. Though whoever it was had not entered or camped outside the swamp they were based in. From that, he could understand why the kid chose to stick to the desert rather than catch a boat, despite its much higher risk.

The kid knew he was wanted and didn't want to attract attention. Pretty obvious to a lot of people, but a surprising amount wouldn't consider they could be tracked quite well even if they donned another identity. Especially with the shinobi of this land. They were annoyingly good at that.

The kid also seemed to at least have a general idea of how to navigate the desert. That wasn't something one picked up, even if you were living in a desert village. Many teens and adults learned eventually because they were the ones who left to get supplies or travel, but kids didn't tend to know how. Especially kids who didn't look like they were raised in the desert, as the paleness of the boy's skin indicated. It showed he had foresight to learn how to navigate a desert.

The kid was also a stamina freak. Everyday since he left he had run for fourteen hours, only taking breaks to find food, water, and get a small amount of sleep. The heat and cold extremes of the desert barely even seemed to bother him. Even the sand didn't seem to irritate the kid much!

Of course he was going far slower than he had in the Land of Rivers, but it was an impressive pace to keep in the desert. By this time, it was the night of the fourth day and he was relaxing a couple sand dunes away from where the kid had set up camp for the night. From what he figured, they were at most two more days away from reaching the kid's objective.

The kid was doing his nightly routine of cooking the lizards he had caught and meditating when his reserves split into two different places. 'Clones?' He thought. He had seen them a couple times since coming to this continent, but they always had a certain elemental feel. This one was near identical to the kid. In fact, the only difference he could sense was the far smaller reserves it had.

Then he realized the clone was moving in his direction. He smirked. Interesting, so the kid could sense too. He wondered when he had been caught onto. It only took a few more moments before the clone landed in front of him, taking in his appearance at a glance, and then only spoke a sentence before dispelling in a cloud of smoke, "Boss asks if you would like to join him for his meal."

Silver blinked at that. He'd never seen a clone speak before or dispel in such a way. This kid just kept getting more interesting. And Boss? He almost snickered at that. How adorable.

Well, he reasoned with himself as he stood, the kid already knew he was here. Might as well accept the invitation.

-o0o-

Naruto was curious. He had been booking it across the desert for the past four days. It had been some of the more miserable days of his life. He had suffered some intense training that surpassed the discomfort he felt in the desert, but the constant irritation of sand was something he hadn't quite experienced before. He blew it away occasionally, but it always got back in and he didn't want to expend chakra to constantly keep it out. Mostly because that would be a big beacon for any sensor with some decent range.

The hot and cold extremes didn't bother him nearly as much. The Land of Fire tended to be quite hot anyway and he had supplemented that with special heat resistance training linked to some basic fire natured chakra training. He was a bit more susceptible to the cold, which he countered with the warm blanket he had brought along.

What had him curious was the presence he had detected following him since he left Tartaros. It was not at all unexpected, but he was still mildly surprised to find it was what seemed like one of the Demon Gates following him. He knew in a straight up fight no grunt could come close to matching him. Even discounting his far larger reserves than the average grunt, he had observed the way they walked and some trained. None of them came close to him. On average he'd say they were roughly on the level of a fresh Chunin. And none of them had any notable stealth capabilities.

He'd assumed that they had at least a few members dedicated to stealth away from the rest. It seemed he had been wrong. The man who was following him was clearly strong, but stealth wise he was clearly an amateur. It was impressive the man could track him for so long from so far away, but his shadow's own skill in stealth was sub par in comparison. With nothing but his mind to occupy him on this trip, he had eventually turned his attention to the man following him. The man had the same feeling as a few of the grunts who smelled of decay. Something he found particularly odd. Was he responsible for them or was he from the same source as they were, only much more powerful?

There was also a subtle difference between him and the others. All the rest he had picked out like that were consumed by 'darkness' as best as he could describe it. This man didn't feel like that. Oh, he could still sense a deep 'darkness' - hate perhaps? - but he also had a lightness to him that he hadn't felt in any other demons. He couldn't figure out what it was - was he sensing emotions? - but he knew this man was different from the others.

Mental note, he needed to investigate if he was indeed sensing emotions or base emotional states. That was a useful skill that he had thought only the most skilled sensors could achieve. He was far from what level he assumed he needed from research. Further investigation was required.

As for now, he decided to contact the Demon. It wasn't too risky, and he had wanted to see if he could get more insight from any Demon Gates regardless. So he had sent a clone to get the man while he prepared food and drink.

It wasn't long before the clone popped and he got his first look at the man from the memories.

The man had narrowed, black eyes and a seemingly perpetual smirk on his face with a small amount of facial hair. His black hair was spiked in an almost organized fashion, facing behind him. The most eye-catching of his face was a large scar that started above his left eye, narrowing as it crossed the eye, ending soon after that.

He wore a heavy metal chest plate with hanging dark blue cloth on it, and over the left side of his chest, there were Latin characters he couldn't quite read. He had large, blue metal pauldrons that had the Tartaros guild symbol on them - similar to two keys hitting a line, colored gold. He also wore a white shirt, sleeves tucked into a pair of heavy brown gloves. The beige pants he wore were tucked into black boots.

He could feel the man moving at a leisurely pace towards him. That was a good sign at least. By the time the man had gotten to his camp, he had finished cooking the lizards he had caught. He offered the man one as he sat down, along with a full cup. The man took it with a nod, taking a bite of the lizard before draining some of the cup.

He blinked in surprise, looking down at the liquid in the cup. His voice was laced with a hint of incredulity as he asked, "Is this blood?"

Naruto let off a bit of a smirk at that and responded, "It's better not to waste things. The blood of the lizards can act as a bastardized version of hydration. Instead of wasting it when I drain them, I mix it with the little water I can find."

Surprisingly, the man let out a deep laugh, "I don't think I've ever met a kid who would think like that! And I don't think I've ever drank blood, though I think it needs a little cooling," with that, his hand and his makeshift cup was cover in a layer of frost. Then he took another swig and let out a sigh, "Much better."

Naruto looked on in interest. Ice Release was rare. Only the Yuki clan of Kiri could do it without previously existing snow or ice as far as he knew. Other wielders of it existed in Snow Country, but they couldn't achieve Ice Release without pre-existing snow.

Of course, he reminded himself, these were demons. They would obviously have a way to create something as simple as ice. Especially if what they used was as close to magic as he thought it was. They stayed silent as they ate, observing each other. Naruto took in all the subtle clues the man gave - the pain and hate buried in his eyes, his scent, even the way he ate.

Silver didn't have the skills to observe and make connections nearly as well, still, he was no slouch. The way the boy moved, at least, spoke of paranoia and experience hiding it.

Naruto decided to speak first, saying part of what he observed for shock value, "You were a civilian not long ago."

The brief twitch and minute movement of his facial features confirmed his observation.

Though it didn't seem Silver was quite ready to confirm yet. "And what makes you say that? Many more experienced than you would say that it's impossible for someone who'd been a civilian to achieve my level of strength."

Naruto only quirked his lips at that, "The way you walk is the most damning. Anyone who starts training in their adult years almost never get rid of the telling way civilians walk. The strength you've gained may be great, but there are always those civilians who have had potential - it merely remained untapped."

Silver only let his smirk grow, "You're more observant than I gave you credit for," he paused to take a bite of the lizard, swallowing before continuing, "So who're you? You look like you've been trained from a young age like the ninja of these lands are so fond of doing. Why're you not in one of those villages?"

Naruto stared into the fire, chewing thoughtfully before he looked to the sky and answered, "Being in one of those villages doesn't really suit me."

Silver raised an eyebrow at that, "And what does suit you?"

Naruto smirked, "Who knows? Most back where I came from would say chaos and carnage." Silver looked interested in that but didn't stop him, "I don't necessarily disagree, but I think there's something that suits me better than that."

Silver smirked a little more when he realized Naruto wasn't going to talk anymore. "You don't seem too threatened by me. Any reason for that?"

Naruto didn't move from gazing at the stars, responding in a bored tone, "Because I know your type. I may not have been too social back in my village, but I was observant. You present yourself as arrogant, but really you find amusement in the way people react more than anything," Silver twitched a little at being read so easily. Though what the boy said next made him laugh, "Besides, I'm confident in my ability to escape if you decided to attack for some inane reason."

Silver continued chuckling for a while after that before he regained enough composure to speak, "You might be good, but I'm rather suited to keeping people from running. Maybe you'd get farther than most, but I doubt you'd escape."

Naruto hummed dismissively before bringing up the topic he really wanted to know about, having decided this man was more open to conversation than others, "Why is it that some of the members of Tartaros smell like corpses?" Out of the corner of his eye he could tell Silver barely maintained his composure. As expected, he knew something. Hopefully he wouldn't start acting defensive.

"That's an interesting question there," Silver paused to give him a critical once over, "Not many people have enhanced senses enough to tell that." He stayed silent for a minute more, merely staring ahead with unfocused eyes. Then he focused in on Naruto's laying form, starting to speak with a notable hesitance, "Among the Demon Gates, there is a necromancer called Keyes. He is responsible."

Naruto sat up at that, scrutinizing Silver in more detail now. He seemed like a perfectly normal human. Aside from how his energy felt. And that didn't feel too different than the demons in Tartaros. Honestly, if it hadn't been for his scent, he wouldn't have noticed.

And a necromancer. He had considered the possibility, but to have it confirmed was actually surprising. The elemental nations had stories of them, but none had truly been confirmed. The few more reliable sources on the subject stated that those who had been necromanced most often had dead and decaying flesh or were entirely bones. He'd never heard of one who could bring back humans nearly exactly as they were - and with magical ability no less.

Either those sources were unreliable or this necromancer was a cut above the rest. And considering he was a Demon Gate, that seemed quite possible.

Necromancing had fascinated him since he had first heard of it. Mostly of how it could potentially be used to make past enemies give up intelligence even after entering the grave. Or just to revive historical figures to get their take on certain events. Of course once he heard how they tended to be mindless he had lost interest. Now with proof that the field had far more potential than he had thought, his previous passing interest was reignited.

Though at the moment he needed to focus more on mastering what he hadn't already and using their library to his advantage. Plus necromancers were always agreed upon to not be the most mentally stable, and he didn't fancy becoming an experiment. Perhaps he could learn something from observation.

Back to the present though, it seemed that this topic bothered Silver quite a bit. Just on the edge of bothering him enough to blast him with ice. He'd tread carefully here. He'd rather make an ally in Silver than an enemy. "Does this Keyes see what you do?" He didn't want a puppet of an ally after all.

Silver shook his head, "He can, but only when he focuses on it. And I can force him out for a time if I need to."

Well that was relieving. This Keyes was arrogant to let Silver keep so much of his free will. Perhaps it was an experiment? Regardless, he could use it to his advantage. Not yet though. He hadn't known Silver long enough and he wasn't ready to leave Tartaros either.

But it wouldn't hurt to get a sparring partner and someone who had more experience with Tartaros. That was it for the night. He didn't want to push Silver and he needed to rest if he planned on reaching the tomb tomorrow. So he bid good night to Silver, inviting the man to join him instead of following from a distance. The man gave a nod of acknowledgment before laying down himself.

-o0o-

Naruto woke roughly an hour before the sun rose. Grabbing some left over blood, he drank, quenching his thirst and rising to destroy the few pieces of evidence he left of his camping here.

Looking over, he saw Silver was also sitting up, watching him, scrutinizing him. He didn't care, only motioning for him to follow if he wished. They seemed to have an understanding for now. They would travel together, but they were wary of each other. Silver more so than him. He may not have Silver all figured out as he did most those he knew in the Leaf, but he'd seen enough.

Silver was more than proficient in combat - if because of his sheer power or a combination of that and skill. Still, he was no soldier. He had too many openings. Silver may have had the upper hand in combat, but when it came right down to it, Naruto had a more experienced and ruthless mind. Finding weaknesses in everyone he met had long become a habit. And that was all he needed to keep Silver at bay if the need arose. He may want allies, but his own survival trumped any other necessity.

So for now he felt relatively safe. And that was all that mattered to him as they crossed the desert to arrive at the tomb. It took them nearly the entire day and by the time they arrived the sun was setting.

That suited Naruto fine. In fact, he preferred it. He wanted to search the cave and he'd rather not have Silver follow his every move. He wanted to see the best this cave had to offer himself before Silver saw it. He didn't want to take the chance of being forced to reveal everything he found to the other members of Tartaros. If Mard Geer was interested in it, then surely there was something interesting here.

So he made a few clones to explore the cave and swapped with one to keep Silver occupied and relatively unsuspicious. He only gave the reasoning of wanting to get back faster and to look for potential traps with no risk. The man easily agreed. Even if he was suspicious, the fact that he didn't care for Tartaros would surely overrule any desire to oversee his search.

They, or rather he and his clones, rummaged through the cave, finding a few engravings along the way but little else. There was an occasional desk and book, but even if they were salvageable, they were in a language he couldn't understand - he couldn't even recognize what alphabet it was derived from. He still sealed the books to try to translate later.

After an hour of search, he came across a mural that was only slightly eroded. It was a depiction of a green land being swallowed up by a desert. Obviously a depiction of the Land of Wind a long time ago. Millennia certainly. He came to realize this cave had been used or searched far more recently than that - certain desks for example were of a far different style and he found books in two distinctly different languages. Though these things were still old, they were closer to centuries old rather than millennia.

Next, he noticed the people depicted in the drawing. The drawings were of humanoids, but they had distinctly pointed ears. Elves? That's the only thing he could think of barring an odd ritual of an ancient civilization. Elves, strange as the conclusion was since they had devolved into mere myth at best, seemed to be the most likely original settlers of this cave. The books with an alphabet he couldn't recognize, the depiction of humanoids, and the fact that some of these books had even survived - they all pointed towards elves. Perhaps the fantastical claim that they had traveled to a different dimension wasn't so far fetched after all.

More than that, though, the mural depicted a cave under the sands and plains, leading into a giant underground hole with a shadowy depiction of some type of monster. Below the monster, there were some type of rune looking things for a ritual as well

He looked to his right where there was an obvious cave in. Was that blocking up the entrance to this supposed beast? Was this supposed to be a warning? He figured it was possible. Pictures were far better at getting a point across than words ever were. Especially if the few books he had found were in Elvish. No one but the Elves themselves knew their language in all of history - though he personally doubted that claim.

Still, even in the myths the elves now lived in, they were usually depicted as more perfect, powerful humans. Even if that was a false claim, it was probably unwise to provoke what may lie beyond and under for now if the elves seemed to fear it as much as the mural indicated.

Before he met up with Silver, he hid the scroll he had sealed the books into just in case he was forced to hand them over, and claimed there weren't many books. He may not be able to read them now, but from what he had glanced through, the other person who had been here centuries ago had left some notes in the books. Even something that looked similar to a key. Perhaps he could learn that language. It seemed to use Latin-inspired characters.

As for the depicted monster… it had been millennia since the elves were here so it was likely that it was dead. That tempted him quite a bit. But there were creatures who could live for a long time if they went into hibernation. There were many stories of monsters like that, and he knew of one that had been confirmed centuries ago. It was of a dragon - or a dragon-like creature at the very least. The only thing he could find on it was that it had been killed soon after it was unearthed, taking many down with it. Even if most agreed that it had been significantly weakened, significant losses had supposedly been had.

So for now he'd leave it alone, but he mentally noted to come back here sometime when he felt he was strong enough.

It took him no more than another hour and a half to explore the rest of what was here. Aside from another few stray books, he found what was most likely directions in the language that wasn't elvish. There was a map attached to the notes. Unfortunately, he didn't recognize the landmass. It was only shown to be surrounded by water and there wasn't even a reference of size.

Figuring that this was what Mard Geer might want, if this goose hunt to such a random location was any indication, he brought it to Silver. Silver seemed to recognize the characters, but couldn't read it either. They both agreed to camp in the cave for a few hours before heading back. They were both rather sick of the sand. They made some small talk before they slept, Naruto mostly engaging in it to look for more information and have a more friendly ally.

-o0o-

It had been four and a half days since they had reached and left the cave that was Naruto's target. They had been slated to return to Tartaros late tonight - possibly early morning the next day at the pace they had been keeping. Unfortunately, the desert liked to cause all those who traveled problems.

Uzumaki Naruto thought that this damn sandstorm was because his luck was absolute crap - it usually was. He had been so close to traveling the desert without an incident and then he couldn't pick up the signs that this bloody sandstorm was going to interrupt him. But he was stubborn and wanted to at least try to trudge through the harsh storm, so they covered their faces and soldiered on. Though he could've sworn Silver chuckled at his expense as if he wasn't forced to trudge through the sandstorm with him.

It was a mistake. He had lost his bearings in the storm. He couldn't see the sun and night was fast approaching with little sign that the storm would stop anytime soon. They couldn't stop now for fear of getting buried in sand. Even if Silver decided to make tents out of ice, there was a chance Suna shinobi would take notice of the anomaly in the desert. He would prefer not to give away his movements to Konoha.

As a result, their only option was to keep moving. A dubious task at the best of times. For some reason people had trouble moving in a damn straight line if they didn't have a point of reference. So for all he knew, they could have circled backwards or be nearly on top of Sunagakure.

They kept on trudging through the sand, using the absolute minimum amount of chakra and - magic? - to keep from getting stuck. He had read that sandstorms could sometimes pop up out of nowhere and last a long time, but experiencing it and reading it were two very different things.

He wondered if Silver could create a shield of ice and keep it moving with them to block the sand. Then he thought better of it, not wanting to alert any sensors -

And then he stopped mid thought. The sandstorm had stopped.

Or more precisely, the area they had entered had no sandstorm. He could still see the sand raging all around him, but the area they were now in was calm. As if it was afraid to enter.

Sandstorms didn't have calm spots like this. They weren't hurricanes or tornadoes that had an 'eye' that was calm. Especially with such a clean cut distinction between sand and clear air.

And they certainly didn't have kids his age standing in the center of it all, completely unaffected by the storm around. This kid had to be the reason for this. He didn't need to send out a probe of chakra to know that.

And then the kid turned to look at them with dead eyes that he knew - had seen in the mirror before. They had a hint of curiosity in them, as if trying to dissect them.

Then those eyes filled with something he had become rather intimate with, especially right before he left his village.

Blood lust.

It was restrained for now - calm, cold eyes holding it back - but he knew that wouldn't hold true for too long. Plans flew through his mind, coming together and discarded one after the other.

Then the boy spoke, his voice steady, cold, emotionless, "Who are you?" the red head turned his gaze to him, "Mother wants your blood, yet she is wary. Mother has never been like that before. Why is that?" the boy didn't give time to answer, turning his gaze to Silver, "Mother says you are an anomaly. A walking corpse. Something to eliminate."

The boy didn't move to act on his words, and Naruto turned his mind to deciphering the boy's words. He spoke as if someone was speaking directly to him. That implied a mental disorder or mental connection to something sealed within him. Sending out a quick probe, he determined it was the latter. Sensing a little more, he realized it was familiar. Similar in nature to something he'd sensed before.

Then he took in the boys appearance and it clicked. The blackness around his eyes similar to a tanuki as if severely sleep deprived, the sand, where they were in the world. This was the Ichibi Jinchuuriki. And they had just walked straight into his home ground.

This… was the worst case scenario barring meeting the Kazekage. And even that was a toss up.

If the Ichibi had as much influence over this boy as he thought, that likely translated to a lot of its power being transferred as well. Yep. This was worst case scenario.

Well, he amended, as he glanced to Silver who was looking a little unnerved beneath his smirk, not quite worst case. "Silver," he said and the man turned his eyes to him, "Make an ice dome around us. Now."

Silver didn't question him, picking up on the fact that he had figured something out. One instant they were surrounded by the whirling storm of brown sand. The next they could only see the blue sheen of ice.

The Ichibi Jinchuuriki barely batted an eye.

Seeing that he hadn't attacked yet, he decided to talk, "You say your mother wants my blood, yet she is wary. Well the answer to that is quite simple." That caught his attention. It seemed he hadn't actually expected an answer. "You and I are similar. You're one, correct?" He didn't actually need confirmation, but it had grabbed the boy's attention. "I am another of the nine."

The boy considered that, a little more curiosity entering his eyes. A little more of him that didn't seem lost to the Ichibi. Silver looked like he had walked into a conversation over his head and he didn't appreciate it.

"I have never met one like myself." He paused, considering, as if trying to remember something, "I thought all of us were confined villages."

Well, that made things more complicated. It seemed he had been educated on the other Jinchuuriki. There was a 50/50 chance of whether he would report that back to Suna, and have people sent after his head. Though perhaps he could relate to the boy and bring him to his side.

"I escaped from my prison," Naruto said, choosing his words carefully. Jinchuuriki were treated badly 100% of the time. The only current exceptions were the Hachibi and Sanbi Jinchuuriki. That was only true for the Hachibi because he had gone through much hardship to prove himself in the Third Great Shinobi War and the Sanbi's Jinchuuriki had overcome the discrimination by being one of the greatest shinobi of his generation even without the Sanbi.

Now that he thought of it, barring perhaps the Nibi Jinchuuriki, he had probably had the best slate as a Jinchuuriki.

Following that trend and what he could see of how the boy had acted - Gaara his mind supplied - he was no exception. And influenced heavily by what he contained if what he said was any indication. What kind of crap seal did he have?

Still, even if his peer had a modicum of his own mind left, his phrasing of escaping his prison would likely be appealing.

"You… escaped?" He questioned, seeming to find the claim baffling, as if it were impossible. It kinda was. Of the Jinchuuriki who had attempted to run, none had lasted long.

"Yes, I outwitted the fools that chained me," Naruto replied.

Gaara looked at him in a new light, "So you fought to prove yourself?"

Naruto frowned at that tone. There was something desperate in it. Something that reeked of obsession. He replied all the same, "In a way, you could say that."

Gaara briefly turned his gaze to Silver before locking eyes with him once more, "Then why do you travel with the anomaly? Should you not eliminate him to prove yourself? To prove that you are strong?"

Ah, now he understood. He had developed a mentality that only the strong survive. He thought that to kill the strong was to be strong - it was, he supposed - but Gaara killed merely for that, not looking at anything else. To prove he was strong was the sole motivation he had.

That was both relieving and troubling. If he showed any weakness the boy would likely aim to kill him with extreme prejudice. On the other hand, it gave Naruto an avenue to control him through.

He chose his next words carefully, "Killing is not the only way to prove yourself. Killing all in your path will only lead to lost progress and your own eventual demise," Gaara considered that, seemingly confused even as a bit of anger started to bleed through his mask. Naruto quickly added to try to abate the boy, "Other people can be wells of knowledge to learn from and use when you cannot be everywhere at once or can't accomplish something on your own."

Gaara calmed slightly, before voicing another question, "And why is knowledge important? And why would you need to be in more than one place at a time?"

Naruto was surprised at the simplicity of the questions. It seemed he had underestimated just how basic his mentality was at the moment. But the why for knowledge being important. He could think of multiple answers, but some deep part of him told him they were all shallow reasons at best. Why was knowledge important to him?

That was a dilemma to solve later. For now he gave the answer that he thought would best appease Gaara, "Knowledge is important because it can tell you anything you want. It can give you an idea of how to kill in new ways or save your life. To fight better, smarter and so much more," Gaara seemed vaguely intrigued at that at least. "As for why you would want to be in more than one place at a time, there are many. There could be two time sensitive things you want to do, but you can't make it to both before one expires. You can have your allies go to the other objective."

Gaara was less interested in that, not quite grasping how that could happen, but nodded all the same. "You are interesting. I wish to learn more from you." He paused, sand floating out of the gourd on his back, "However I must see you are truly strong for myself. Mother longs for blood and if you are not strong enough to resist, you are not worthy to learn from."

'Well', Naruto thought somewhat sarcastically, 'I guess this isn't the worst outcome I could hope for.'

And then he had to dodge as sand was flung his way.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Silver's characteristic smirk widen a tad. Smug bastard. He would pay him back with interest later, regardless of his own desire for the man to stay out of the fight in the first place. Barring, of course, his ice cage. If that wasn't there he was guaranteed to be dead.

Darting around the red haired boy, Naruto started actively sensing everything he attempted. So far he had only sent waves of sand in a fairly straightforward pattern. Some chasing him while another part came in from another side to intercept him, but it was starting to pick up speed and perform more complex movements. Whether that was from learning on the fly or Gaara merely starting to not play around he didn't much care.

But by now he had picked up on the fact that Gaara always kept some sand around him to defend with. The few kunai he had thrown had been easily blocked. Even manipulating one with wire to hit the back of his head did nothing, that seemed to contribute to his idea that the defence Gaara had was automatic. Which really sucked, all things considered. That meant even when this guy was completely unprepared, the only way you were going to ever take him out in one strike was by being stupidly fast.

So he had to find a way around that. No problem, he excelled at finding unorthodox solutions to annoying problems.

Jerking out of his circling, he threw out some clones to prepare a few traps and charged into close range. Unbelievably stupid considering Gaara's abilities.

Unless, of course, the kunai his sand had swallowed up earlier were rigged with his exploding seals. So as he ran, Gaara lit up in a glorious explosion.

A crazed smile graced his face as the smell of smoke hit his nose, his blood pumped as he burst through the cloud of smoke and lingering embers, throwing a kick that he released his restriction seals for into the meager defence put up. The blackened sand had become brittle and was smashed through. His kick continued on to bash Gaara across the face, sending him stumbling back in shock.

Naruto didn't stop, punching through the feeble guard the boy mustered with ease. Throwing combos that kept Gaara stumbling and scrambling to put up a defence. It took only two combinations to realize that Gaara's skin was cracking and flaking off, as if he were a statue. Yanking off the bandanna covering his Sharingan, he could clearly see what it was.

Hardened sand that conformed to his body so tightly it was like a second, thicker skin. So he had not just one formidable defense, but a second just in case. Luckily, it seemed to be highly chakra intensive. So once it was gone, it was probably gone for quite a while.

Finally after knocking off a good portion of the defence covering his face and left shoulder, his senses screamed at him to dodge. He did so with a quick cartwheel into a back flip, barely slipping past a spear of sand aimed for his heart. It barely clipped his side, cutting into his shirt, but doing little else.

It seemed Gaara had recovered what was still usable of his sand. It was a surprising amount, considering his explosive tags had quite a bang to them. Of course, he noticed with mixed excitement and chagrin that Gaara barely had a scratch on him. And that scratch was only a scuff mark rather than any actual damage.

If this kid had any actual intensive combat training or experience he could've wiped the floor with him. That sand defense was just so difficult to get past and so adaptive that he didn't have too many tools to get past it without prior setup.

Which is what likely contributed to that weakness in the first place. Gaara always had such natural power and adaptability that he didn't ever have too much of a need to brush up on close combat skills. And his experience would likewise suffer because of that and his young age.

Did every Jinchuuriki have a special skill like this that made them so annoying to fight? Or was Gaara just an outlier? As far as he could tell, the only thing he had was stupidly high chakra reserves and way higher than average recovery time from an injury and exhaustion. Possibly enhancement to senses as well, but he had no reference for that to tell for sure.

Still, as far as he knew, those were basic abilities all Jinchuuriki gained in varying amounts depending on the seal and power of the Bijuu. And really, being Uzumaki already gave him large reserves and better than average healing - being a Jinchuuriki just boosted that. While the healing was nice, the stupidly high chakra often seemed more trouble than it was worth. And he could've trained his senses to be higher - as he had - if it hadn't already been boosted.

So either the Ichibi host was an exception, as the previous hosts were reported to have similar abilities, or - more likely as it was generally agreed the Yonbi gave its user the Lava Release - the connection between Bijuu and host played a roll. If the Kyuubi had anything remotely similar in value to give - excluding knowledge - maybe he should look into a way to contact it sooner rather than later.

He mentally slapped himself as he ardently dodged another wave of charging sand. Fight now, theories later. Luckily his clones diverted enough attention that he could still think about how to beat Gaara.

He glanced around, taking everything in with a new view from the Sharingan. Silver's ice was brilliantly colored as expected, as was Gaara's sand. Then he looked closer and noticed something peculiar. The chakra in the sand was undoubtedly contributing to movement, but the main force moving it wasn't that. Rather Gaara created a sort of constantly shifting object that moved in conjunction with the sand.

It sparked something in his memory. Magnetism. There was a lot of details that particular field took into account when moving things in complex ways. The fact that Gaara performed these moves with ease indicated it was more a result of instinct than any actual knowledge on how his power worked. With how mentally unstable he was, there was nearly a zero percent chance his assumption was incorrect.

Gaara most likely charged his sand negatively - though it could be positive - and kept it from becoming neutral again after hitting the ground. Though he did notice sand on the bottom slowed a bit so perhaps it wasn't perfect. But it was still amazing to instinctively understand magnetism to such a degree. And to be able to use it in combat so effectively was highly impressive. It also made him slightly envious - it had taken him a while to understand the greater complexities of magnetism.

Now, though, that presented him with a new possibility to get past Gaara's defenses. If he could figure out how to create a magnetic field with his chakra - even a small one - he could hit Gaara far more easily. And with Gaara only having instinct on his side, it was unlikely he'd be able to easily resist his attempt. The problem was creating the magnetic field. The Sharingan helped a lot in that department, but it wasn't perfect. Many thought that if you perfected jutsu to the point of a few or zero hand seals, the Sharingan couldn't copy it. That wasn't exactly true. It could understand it to an extent, especially if the user knew what to look for, but copying pure chakra flow without the aid of hand seals made it far more difficult and chakra intensive. That was assuming you could even accomplish it in the first place. So almost 100% of the time it was pointless to even try.

Unfortunately, he didn't really have a choice. The desert was dry so he couldn't realistically pull out enough water to slow the sand down enough to matter. Silver's ice wasn't an option for multiple reasons, but mostly due to it giving Gaara more access to sand.

So this was really one of his only options. His clones had had time to brainstorm as well, but they had yet to put anything into motion. It'd be fun though, to be put under pressure to learn such a skill in the span of minutes, if not seconds.

Naruto's grin broadened as he yelled out, "What a challenge!" Then he laughed somewhat sinisterly, unintentionally making Silver think he was quite thoroughly insane and a battle maniac. Both were probably true.

Naruto didn't care for that though. He focused on Gaara and how he combined Earth and Lightning natured chakra to make the sand charged and how he was creating a magnetic field. He quickly realized he only needed to focus on the latter because Gaara was keeping the particles charged for him.

Looking to the box - more like lines he corrected - they were constantly changing in response to his own movements. Now to figure out the how of how he created it. It seemed it was mostly using Lightning natured chakra to constantly redirect electrons.

Simple enough in theory - in fact it seemed almost like he was using the basic principle of a capacitor but with air and the earth instead of metal plates. Despite this comparison he understood, it was far more difficult in practice. He had dipped his hand into the basics of all five natural elements, but he had only really become somewhat proficient in Futon. He still knew a lot of theory (relatively at least) on Raiton but theory and practice were quite different. He knew what was happening though, so he could hopefully replicate it to a small enough degree to negate Gaara's formidable defense for a few seconds.

Testing it in small bursts as he avoided the oncoming sand, he found Gaara seemed to notice something was happening, just not what. Well better to do it when he was unprepared than if he found a way to counter.

Jumping over the sand and using it as a push off point, he launched himself towards Gaara once more. Then as he approached, he held his hands out and started pumping out Lightning natured chakra to create a force enough to make the sand wall in his way split apart. Even if Gaara unconsciously fought against it.

The wall parted, Gaara's light green eyes widened, and Naruto let out a laugh of glee, "I'm a genius!"

He was usually not vain or boastful, but he was in the heat of the moment and feeling proud of himself. His hand came up with a kunai and he slammed its ring into Gaara's temple hard enough to blow out any civilian's head. Gaara was merely knocked unconscious.

Naruto let out a breath as his adrenaline started to fade. That had been a fun fight. And he had learned something new to experiment with. Gaara seemed to have great potential as well. Should he bring him along or just leave him here? Maybe negotiate an alliance? Was Gaara even sane enough for that to be a lasting solution? Mard Geer wouldn't be terribly happy-

Then an insane laugh echoed as sand erupted around Gaara's body and broke Silver's ice prison, unprepared to counter it as he was. He noticed a face forming and it was then he realized he had fucked up.

He saw the face of the Ichibi forming and watched in a small amount of awe and fear with a large dose of fascination. He absently noticed the sand storm was almost non-existent now. That was the least of his concerns though.

He couldn't fight the Ichibi in the desert! It was suicide for anyone barring the strongest people in the world! Hell, it was suicide for well trained armies! He glanced to Silver and noticed he was in a state of shock as well. Probably because he didn't know a kid transforming into a monster was possible. It usually wasn't unless the Jinchuuriki willed it and the seal was weak enough. Not if they fell unconscious! He cursed the idiots who sealed the Ichibi. He was supposedly the easiest to seal! How had they screwed it up so badly!

It didn't matter for now. Even if Silver joined him it was pretty unlikely they would win. He didn't know exactly how magic worked, but he could take a pretty good guess and say that an ice mage in the desert was not at an advantage. Especially not against a sand demon. It was time for a tactical retreat.

"Silver," he said not waiting for a response, "We need to make a tactical retreat. Make sure to create a path of ice as we run."

He looked to the sky, got a quick bearing of the general direction they needed to go and started running. Silver followed soon after, tossing down an ice path and throwing ice spikes back at the Ichibi.

They heard the Ichibi laugh louder as it started to finalize its shape into a 30 something story tall tanuki. Then it laughed and screeched to the world, "The great Shukaku is free again!" It turned its eyes to our running forms and huffed dismissively, as if they were ants, "I'll spare you for now. You contributed to this temporary freedom, and I can't wait to smell blood in Suna!"

Naruto twitched at being called an ant, but restrained himself from turning around, pleased at least that they wouldn't be dying today. Self preservation over road pride in this situation. The Ichibi was a problem for the Kazekage now.

And it seemed his choice of bringing Gaara along or not was gone for now. Perhaps he would search for the boy in a few years when he was prepared for a potential fight with the Ichibi.

Silver had cut off his ice and dispelled it, realizing they were no longer in danger and didn't want to leave a trail. Then he noticed small, shiny particles being pulled out of the sand and being summoned towards Shukaku. He saw and felt it at the same time. The Kazekage had arrived.

As much as he wished to see those two clash, it would be rather difficult to lose any pursuers who knew the desert better than he and Silver. So they ran until they found the border to the Land of Rivers and a little further into it before stopping.

Silver stared at him as they rested with a look that demanded an explanation. He petulantly stayed silent, refusing to answer until the question was voiced.

Silver decided to humor him and asked, "What the hell was that?"

His response was short, "The Ichibi, Shukaku."

Silver's eye twitched, "That's not what I meant."

Naruto refused to meet halfway, "Then what did you mean?"

Silver lost the smirk he had regained once they had entered River Country and his forehead throbbed in annoyance. Naruto had to hide his own smirk at that. Maybe Sakumo was onto something when he was so vague with him. It was fun to annoy people like that. "I meant what was it, not what is it called."

"A Bijuu," he informed seeing still more twitching. Deciding to answer partially, he gave a peace offering, "Many call them masses of chakra or chaos given a will or consciousness."

Silver visibly relaxed, but caught onto his wording, "Many? You don't?"

Naruto shrugged, letting him come to his own conclusions as he stood back up and stretched a little. He looked towards the sky and saw it would be night soon. It seemed their blitz out of the desert had made up for time spent wandering in the sandstorm. Now they just had to get their bearings of just where they were before they got back. "Let's go. If we're quick we can be back by sundown."

-o0o-

The Kazekage, Sabaku Rasa, was displeased. His youngest child, Gaara, had gone out into the desert to calm himself and prevent the release of the Ichibi as he had ordered. Despite being in the desert, Gaara had ended up releasing the Ichibi, forcing him to confront the beast.

He enjoyed some exercise and a good fight, but not at the cost of the lives of any of the men and women under his service. So he was displeased, but he was also curious and possibly out for blood.

Gaara hadn't lost control and transformed for about half a decade now. Something had to have provoked him and threatened him enough to force him into that state. He found it even more likely after recovering his son's unconscious body and finding half of his upper sand armor was gone. From what the medics had informed him, the boy also had a minor concussion.

There were not many people who could fight Gaara effectively enough in the desert to force Shukaku out. In fact, discounting the Kage and those few elusive mages who wandered the Nations, he could think of no more than 20 that could perhaps accomplish that feat alone. And of those people, most would have no reason to be anywhere near Wind Country's desert, let alone in a place where sandstorms had been known to form.

So it was likely there was a new player who was moving up in the world. When he had approached Shukaku he had noticed the slightly bluish tint something - ice he thought - gave in the distance. It faded quickly, but he had seen it easily, being so obviously out of place in the desert. He had only sensed two presences. One of them was obviously of a ninja, the other was some sort of odd mage. They had both been rather impressive, but the mage, in this case, seemed to win out.

He had sensed residue of techniques from both, but it seemed the mage had only used a single large spell. Either what ended the fight or something to contain them. Either could be true as Gaara liked to play with his opponents at times. So it was possible the ninja had fought with Gaara for a while and then the mage pulled out an unexpectedly powerful attack to knock Gaara out.

All the same, he didn't like two unknowns like that so close to his village. Regardless of whether they were the aggressors or had acted in self defence, they were a threat. He had sent some trackers to follow any trail, but those were hard to find in the desert in optimal conditions. A desert post fight with the Ichibi was anything but optimal. And if the level of suppression the ninja was capable of was any indication, he would be good at covering their tracks.

So he sat at his desk, waiting for Gaara to wake from one of the few times he had genuine rest to get answers. It was sixteen long hours before the boy stirred.

"Gaara," he greeted rather coldly.

Gaara sat up, confused for a moment before his face settled on his typical stoicism, "Father," he greeted, equally cold.

They stared each other down for a time before Gaara finally backed down, looking away. Rasa took that as his cue to speak, "Who was it that attacked you?"

Gaara stayed silent for a few moments, seemingly contemplating his answer, finally responding when Rasa exuded some chakra, "I do not know."

Rasa was not pleased by this game, and it showed with his rising presence. Gaara understood his displeasure and revised his answer, "A boy my age with bright blonde hair and a red and blue eye."

Rasa calmed and reiterated, "And who was the other?"

Gaara responded promptly this time, "A man with black hair, a metal breast plate, and a large scar over his left eye."

Rasa contemplated those answers. He was completely unfamiliar with the description of the second man, but the first tickled something in his memory. Something recent. Few children were as powerful as Gaara, inexperienced as he was. And bright blonde hair was exceedingly rare in the elemental nations, not to mention heterochromic eyes of rare colors.

He brushed a few papers to the side of his desk and looked down at a masked, blurry face. It had bright blonde hair and what was probably a blue eye, but the other was covered. Naruto Uzumaki - the most recent young and notorious traitor to Konoha. He had supposedly annihilated most of the Uchiha clan alone. He was Gaara's age and skilled if the report held any truth. And a red eye. It was possible the boy had transplanted a Sharingan to himself after slaying the Uchiha.

He personally cared little for the Leaf's loss of the Uchiha and another rogue traitor from there, but it did present a problem that he did care about. Most immediate was the question of what Uzumaki was doing in the middle of the desert. Avoiding detection was an easy answer, but there were easier ways to do that. It was common knowledge the desert was dangerous to travel through. It would have been more ideal for the boy to keep his head down and head along the ports if he was avoiding attention. Though that didn't even consider where or when he had time to ally with a mage. It was a question he couldn't get an answer to unless he met the boy face to face.

So he moved his attention to the larger threat and one not so immediate, but far more large scale. Konoha was a bit of a laughing stock at the moment and seen as weak because of the Uchiha incident. Many were sending out feelers to determine if they could fight a war. While the Uchiha weren't the entirety of the Leaf's forces, they certainly made up a good chunk of its strength.

If Kumo and Iwa decided it would be worth the casualties to start a war with Konoha, Suna would be legally compelled to help Konoha. Not that ninja cared too much for treaties, but they had to at least make an effort to seem somewhat trustworthy, otherwise clients would hire less and everyone ended up being your enemy.

"Leave me, Gaara."

He did. Gaara had things to think on himself. That boy had beat him. Perhaps he hadn't defeated Mother, but the blonde haired one had defeated him. The blonde at least had some sort of idea of what he was talking about.

Perhaps he would try having some allies himself. Test if what the boy had said was true first hand since he couldn't join him now to observe. Perhaps his siblings? They feared him like everyone else, just not to the same degree. Yes, they would be the ones he would start with.

-o0o-

Kushina had been having a difficult time of reigning in her temper. She had brushed up enough on Genjutsu to hide her fox tail most of the time, but it wasn't perfect and if she got too distracted she would lose control of the illusion. She and Kyoko had arrived in Konoha a little more than a week ago and her reunion with Old Man Sarutobi had been… shaky to say the least. She was still a little mad that he hadn't gotten someone to care for Naruto as Minato had for Kyoko. He was likewise angered over how Minato had been alive and well, not come back to Konoha, and on top of it all, not helped his son.

He may have also been a little upset that she had gone so far as to make a deal with something like the Kyuubi, but it's not like she was happy about it either. In fact, this thrice damned tail was pissing her off quite a bit. It didn't seem to obey her commands to stay fucking still and it was a hassle to hide it all the damn time.

But for all the annoyance it was causing her, it was worth it to see her daughter's smiling face and to connect with her. She hadn't met any of her blood since Mito had died just under three decades ago. It felt nice. Friends and comrades in arms were one thing, but the Uzumaki had always been a clan concerned with family.

She still cursed Minato to hell for making her coma prolonged though. It seemed he had used some of that time to ingrain loyalty to Konoha into her daughter. It hadn't taken complete root, Kyoko having never been in Konoha before playing a large role in that, but it was there. As much as she loathed Minato for doing such a thing, Kyoko was still young enough to instill different values than to fight and die for a nation you barely knew. Like the importance of family and friends.

Kyoko had asked about her brother - apparently Minato had convinced her it was alright to leave him alone in Konoha as a child - and she was eager to meet him. So far she had avoided her daughter's inquiries about where he was, but she couldn't do it for much longer. Both for herself and her daughter's sake. They had to face the truth. She had decided to have that conversation today or tomorrow. And considering it was approaching evening, she either had to have it after dinner or steel herself for tomorrow.

As she was about to decide, she heard a knock on the door. She frowned. The only one who knew where she was right now was Old Man Sarutobi. He had said he'd let them settle down and bond for a couple weeks before they had to start on their own duties - Kyoko the academy and she getting back into active shape.

Feeling the presence outside, it wasn't Sarutobi, but it was intimately familiar. Someone she knew well. She just couldn't recognize it because she was still a little groggy from her wake up call and change in body. It wasn't hostile, she could at least tell that. Tentatively opening the door, she saw white spiky hair and immediately regretted her decision. The man opened his mouth - likely to say something stupid - but she didn't give him a chance. Fist met face and Jiraiya, the legendary Gama Sennin of the Sannin, was blown through a tree.

She didn't say anything as Jiraiya stood up, only glaring daggers at him while releasing killing intent. She saw Jiraiya gulp and hold up his hands in defense, scrambling to find words to defend himself. "Now Kushina, let's not be rash. I know you're angry, but -"

She cut him off there, hissing out in a low, venom filled voice, "Angry? No I'm not angry. I'm well past that point," she could see Jiraiya beginning to sweat. Good. "You left my son to rot in this hell hole when you knew damn well how he'd be treated. And now look what happened. So yes, I'm well past angry."

Jiraiya swallowed heavily, finding his voice once more, "I know what I did. And I regret it. I was a fool to leave him here alone despite the risks it would present if I had taken him. Say what you want, but at least give me a chance to be the godfather to your daughter that I never was to Naruto."

The raw emotion in his voice halted her anger from progressing any further. Logically, she had known Jiraiya taking Naruto would've painted a huge target on her son's back, but emotionally she hated the end result of Naruto's stay in Konoha and she partially blamed the Sannin for that. At the same time, Jiraiya was truly remorseful. And despite his… perverted antics and way of coping, he was typically a pretty decent role model. And a good friend besides.

So she huffed dismissively, showing she wasn't completely pleased, but still willing to give him a second chance as she motioned him in. He brightened considerably as he followed her in.

"You don't seem to have aged a day," he complimented. It was true, but it still made her want to pound his face in.

She refrained, though, as it was a genuine compliment, "Thank you. And you seem to be the same as you were eleven years ago."

He grinned broadly, and boasted, "Well I know my dashing looks and personality had been retained, but it's good to hear it confirmed!"

Kushina sighed in fond exasperation. It was hard to stay mad at this idiot for long when he acted like that.

"Kaa-san? Who is that?" Kyoko's voice floated in from the living room.

Before she could reply, Jiraiya sped ahead of her and started his own flashy introduction, "I am the great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, the - Gah," he stopped rather abruptly after being pounded into the ground.

"Now Jiraiya, such an introduction isn't needed. A simple 'I'm your Godfather' would've been plenty."

Kyoko's eyes widened and sparkled, "You trained Tou-san! And if you're my Godfather, you're Onii-san's too, right? Where is he?" She asked in rapid succession.

At her questions Jiraiya sobered a little and shot Kushina a look. She gave him a look of her own that was halfway between dread and resignation as she gave a nod. It seemed the decision of when to tell Kyoko had been taken from her.

Jiraiya sighed and spoke, voice full of regret, "I am, but I've only ever met Naruto once when he was a baby."

Kyoko's expression noticeably dimmed, but her voice kept its upbeat tone, "Well where is he then? Who took care of him in Konoha?"

The two adults shared a hesitant glance and Kushina answered, "Your brother mostly took care of himself when he lived here with a little help from the Sandaime."

Kyoko drooped even more at that, seeming to realize her brother hadn't had a dedicated care taker. Then she seemed to pick up on her wording, and asked a question she dreaded the answer to, "Lived? You mean he isn't here anymore?"

Kushina took a deep breath to prepare herself to say it out loud, "No. He no longer lives in Konoha. He is the one who killed the Uchiha and he fled the village."

Kyoko's face showed her utter shock. "He, he killed them? But he's only my age! How could they accuse him of doing something like that!" By the end, she had recovered from shock and replaced it with anger.

Kushina tried to stay calm in the face of her own rising anger. She was the adult, she had to maintain a veneer of calm, "Your brother was said to be quite skilled despite his age. It seems he was just more skilled than most suspected. They have found conclusive evidence Naruto was responsible and he was gone when they went to look for him. He is more than likely guilty." Kushina tried to keep calm and deliver the news, but she couldn't help but get in one last jab, "They probably gave him a good reason to take them out," she muttered somewhat lowly, just not enough to be inaudible.

Kyoko didn't seem calmed in the least by that. "If he didn't have someone taking care of him, then how could he be able to kill the Uchiha! Why would he! Isn't Konoha supposed to be the greatest of the five!"

Jiraiya decided to take this one. "Kid, look at me," he demanded. She complied, tears running down her face. "I don't know why Naruto did what he did, but I can tell you this. Every place has a dark side to it. Naruto just happened to get deeply entrenched in Konoha's through no fault of his own," Kyoko was visibly confused, so he explained, "I take it you know you're the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi?" She nodded, "Well that's not entirely true. You hold its Yin half. It's why I suspect you are or will be good at Genjutsu. Naruto holds the Yang half of it."

Kyoko took that in. How come she hadn't been told that? Did Tou-san just think it wasn't that important?

Jiraiya continued his explanation before she contemplated it too much, "Jinchuuriki are never treated very well no matter what village you go to. Konoha may like to say it's the most righteous, but they treat their Jinchuuriki the same as any other village - as a scapegoat. That's why we hid Kushina's status as one, so she wouldn't have to bear that hate. Naruto's status, unfortunately, was not nearly as discreet as would be ideal."

Kyoko took that in, forming opinions and connecting dots. She was starting to see a more complete picture of the world and Konoha.

"Look kid, when you're hated like that you either adapt and thrive or you sink. Naruto thrived in the face of adversity. I don't know exactly how he got that strong, but I suspect he somehow found a mentor to teach him. Plus, from what I know, his best friend was Itachi Uchiha. That kid is damn skilled so he probably learned a thing or two from him."

Kyoko thought about that, confused at the fact that Naruto would kill his best friend's clan. She dismissed it quickly. Itachi Uchiha had survived. Maybe it was the rest of the clan as a whole that had offended her brother. And she saw now that maybe Konoha wasn't great for everyone. Tou-san had said to listen to Jiraiya if she ever met him, praising him as a wise man. Maybe Tou-san had been a little short sighted in thinking that Naruto-nii wouldn't be discovered. Still, everyone made mistakes. Even Tou-san.

If Naruto had hated this place so much to run away, then maybe she should look a little more critically on Konoha. And when she became a ninja and could leave on missions, she would search for him. Ask him why he did it and bring him home with her to Kaa-san, wherever she decided her home was.

For now though, maybe she should talk to Itachi Uchiha. If he was Naruto-nii's best friend then surely he had some answers or could tell her about him.

"So, do you think he's a good person? Or did he turn into a monster?"

Her question surprised them, but Jiraiya was quick to recover, "Let me be honest with you. The only things I know about Naruto are from what sensei and some friends here told me, ok?" Kyoko nodded impatiently, "Alright. From what I know, no I don't think he's some monster hellbent on destruction."

Kyoko narrowed her eyes, "But you do think he's after revenge," Jiraiya showed surprise and she let the scorn of being underestimated show in her voice, "I'm not stupid. What does that mean?"

Jiraiya grinned and let out a sharp laugh, "You're a perceptive kid, you know that?" the blonde didn't dignify that with a response. "Alright, I'll tell you then. I've been told Naruto doesn't act rashly. That he meticulously weighs consequences. That he gets back at people in subtle ways that screw them up in the long run. Do I think he's planning revenge on Konoha? It's possible. But the Uchiha? No, he must've had a damn good reason to take a risk like that."

Kyoko seemed satisfied with that. "Thank you," she paused, hesitating for a moment before adding, "And could you please tell me more about what you know about Naruto?"

Jiraiya gave a soft smile and let his large hand ruffle her hair, "Sure kid, anytime."

She smiled and went to her room to contemplate what she had learned.

Kushina whipped around to Jiraiya as soon as she left and hissed, "What the hell are you thinking, telling her something like that!? Are you trying to get her to turn on her brother or not, cause I really can't tell! And-"

"Kushina," Jiraiya told her seriously. She immediately relented. He smiled softly at her, "She's a smart kid. I wasn't going to lie to her. She would've come up with a worse opinion if she hadn't been told now, by one of us. It's better that it's the truth than something she'll find out is a lie."

Kushina considered that, knowing it was right but not really wanting to admit it to him. Still, "You're lying," she accused quietly, "You know why he did it."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes in irritation. That was off, he hardly ever did that. "Kushina, I'm trying to mend the bridge between us, don't make this difficult," he almost pleaded, but Kushina wasn't too moved. She continued to glare defiantly at him until he folded. "Fine," he hissed, "I really am not certain why he did it, but I've got a theory. I don't want to break your hearts if I'm wrong though, so I'm not telling you. Satisfied?"

Kushina nodded, conceding and letting go of her glare. She needed to get caught up on current events to see if she could figure out what this theory of his was that would give them hope. At the moment though, it was time to prepare dinner. She sighed. "Come on, Jiraiya. Any exotic foods you know how to cook from your travels?"

And Jiraiya was back to his old self in a second, "Do I ever!" He boisterously boasted as he followed her to the kitchen.

* * *

 **Ho boy,** extra long chapter. Tell me what you think, I'm curious. Also would like a beta reader if anyone is interested.


	4. Revelations and Relations

**Chapter 4: Revelations and Relations**

"Information is an essential currency if you wish to be influential. Whether openly or in the shadows, it matters not. Being isolated from any major news has taught me this more intimately than any proverb Sakumo quoted." - Uzumaki Naruto

* * *

"Oh? You had complications on such a simple assignment?"

Naruto wanted to strangle Mard Geer in that moment more than ever. He restrained himself though, continuing his report steadily, "Getting across the desert and the tomb was not a problem. It was only when I ran into an unusually powerful opponent that I had any trouble," he paused and added on snidely, "Sir."

"A random child caused you problems? Mard Geer is disappointed. Tempester spoke highly of your potential."

This bastard was baiting him. He was the most annoying man he'd ever had to deal with if only because he despised this man while he was somewhat friendly with Sakumo. Regardless, he had learned to reign in his anger long ago, so he kept his fists from clenching and kept his tone even, "The one we encountered is an exception. I defeated him, but the thing he contained I could not best in the best of conditions."

He didn't actually completely believe that. Perhaps it was a bit arrogant, but if he could choose the battlefield and had time to set traps he thought he could come to a standstill with the Ichibi. There was no need to say that though.

Mard Geer quirked an eyebrow at that, "And what was it that he contained?"

Sticking with the vague answers he'd given to Silver, he replied, "A monster of this land people call a Bijuu. They are at least centuries old. Many say they are manifestations of evil. After meeting that one, it's certainly easy to see why many claim that."

Mard Geer considered that, not moving his head from where it lazily rested on the back of his hand. "So these Bijuu are the strongest things in this land?" He inquired.

"To the best of my knowledge, yes. Perhaps barring a select few humans."

Mard Geer's eyes flashed with hatred at the mention of humans. This man truly despised all human kind. Naruto himself didn't care much for them on a whole either, but he acknowledged the fact that some few could rise far above the rest. Like himself, loathe as he was to group himself with his species.

"To your knowledge," he pressed.

Naruto tilted his head as if in thought - a flash of that cave that fanned the spark of his interest in legendary creatures to a flame appeared in his mind's eye - before an answer left him, "There are tales, as there are in every land, of things on par or above them. Aside from them there is no conclusive thing stronger than them."

Mard Geer studied him for a second longer before nodding, seemingly satisfied for now. Mard Geer waved him off, leaving Silver alone with their leader. That was fine, even if he had this Keyes person dig through his memories they wouldn't find anything too incriminating. Only things mildly suspicious and they were already suspicious of him and Silver, so no loss there. And if the arrogance he sensed was anything to go by, they wouldn't care to search Silver's memories either. It was a game to them, seeing the two of them, seemingly inconsequential pieces, attempt an alliance behind their backs.

He'd seen similar things during his time in the Boss' place in Konoha when others plotted to take his place. He liked to let them plan, then ruthlessly crush them and whatever plan they'd come up with. The boss even occasionally employed his help in stamping them out. These demons acted the same way. They enjoyed watching the struggle. Well, others with less wits or training than him had pulled off an escape or take over when their superiors were overconfident. He wouldn't be like most and wilt when the heat became too much.

He would adapt and grow stronger for it as he always had and always would.

Briefly stopping by his room, he dropped off some traveling equipment, took a quick shower, and left for the training room. He was pissed and he needed to blow off some steam. Plus, his encounter with Gaara showed he still had a long way to go. There were those his age out there that could match and surpass him. No matter the reason they could accomplish it.

Nearly smashing the doors off the hinges as he barged into the room, he suddenly realized the grunts of Tartaros hated his guts and used this room to train. The sudden turning and glaring of everyone in the room did a rather good job of reminding him of that.

…

Eh, what the hell, he wanted to work some frustration off and earn some respect. Why not do both at once.

"Well, come on then," he goaded, "You all wanna fight me. Come at me then. Or are you all a bunch of sissies."

The next second he was dodging about a dozen different attacks. He grinned. Oh, this would be fun.

It was an hour before he had knocked the last guy down. He was breathing fairly heavily and sported a number of gashes on his body and clothes. Some burn marks marked his skin as well. A few of these grunts had some interesting abilities that he'd scarcely heard of before or hadn't at all. Magic seemed to be a more diverse than chakra.

One idiot had tried to sneak up on him and poison him with both gas and acid. The acid had impressively eaten through an inch or so of the ground before stopping. Nasty stuff that was. He wanted to try to reproduce that stuff. Especially because it wasn't conventional in a fight. He specialized in those sort of tactics.

Oh the things he could do with only an egg, a feather, and some chili pepper…

Other than the acid man, he had seen a woman shoot some metal at him. He'd heard of a clan who could turn parts of their body to metal, but never of outward control. Something to look into and see if it was possible. It was mostly for scientific curiosity. He'd likely never be able to apply it in combat. He was sure the kind of chakra manipulation required to manipulate or generate metal was ridiculous.

Other than those two, the others used the five main elements and a few other unique abilities. Nothing that caught his eye though and nothing he couldn't handle. They even made it easier when they showed just how little they could work in a unit. Possibly something to fix if he ever became bored enough or was ordered to report on their effectiveness.

Panting for a few more moments, he straightened up, admired his handiwork, and assessed his condition. He was fine, nothing he couldn't heal up from in a few days.

Turning as he sensed a presence more similar to the Demon Gates than any of these grunts (though not nearly as powerful), he came face to face with the lithe form of a young teenage girl. Black hair in a bob cut, black eyes, a fluffy white - lab? - coat, purple undershirt with a tie and a black skirt. White tights ran under them, tucked into a pair of gray pants. Atop her head were a pair of floppy bunny ears. It seemed that barring Mard Geer and Silver - who was human anyway - he'd be getting used to people with _at least_ a single distinctive nonhuman feature.

Glaring at the girl, he took in her energy signature more intently. She couldn't hold a candle even to Silver, the weakest of the Demon Gates if what the man had implied was true. Though that was to be taken with grain of salt considering Silver had been a civilian. He might not be able to judge his power level accurately. Still, something about the look on this girl's face made him uneasy.

She reached out her hand as if to poke him. His frigid glare stopped her. He wasn't here to play games like this. "Don't touch me," he hissed.

She shrunk back, almost sniveling, "Wah! Scary! I was just trying to help!"

He twitched, "What's a kid like you doing in a place like this."

"Hey," she huffed, doing a complete 180 from her previously scared demeanor, "I'll have you know I'm a doctor, and I'm not a kid! You are!" she accused pointing her finger back at him.

Naruto had to hold himself back from throttling her. Something about her just rubbed him the wrong way. "I'm only a kid in body. I'm no more innocent than any criminal. In fact I'm less innocent than most hardened killers. So why don't you drop the childish act, you're not three."

And suddenly, she did as asked, turning serious in an instant. "I'm just going to treat your injuries. Nothing more."

He hid how caught off guard he was with her new change. Instead he motioned to the bodies around them. "Well I believe they need it more than me. I'll be fine soon regardless."

The childish returned personality returned, her eyes shining, "You have a healing factor?" She chuckled a low, creepy laugh, "Hehehe, oh the things I could do to you," then she devolved into an incoherent mumbling mess.

Naruto decided to leave while he could and resolved to avoid whoever this psycho was as much as possible. He could likely take her in a fight, but something about her just felt off. And he'd met enough psychos who had that feel to them to be a little wary.

He strode back to his room, treating his wounds and then heading straight for the library. There were things to research and Demon Gates to observe. He had heard some saying back in Konoha that he thought fit him quite well at the moment. It was something along the lines of 'Ain't no rest for the wicked.'

-o0o-

Kyoko was nervous. She had almost never been around kids her age before. Tou-san had left her in daycares before to let her socialize a little and she had entered villages on her own to play with others for mock infiltration training. But she barely remembered daycare days and she had only done infiltration training a few times and never in the same place for more than a week. This would be the first time she would be meeting kids she would actually be spending a lot of time around and she didn't want to make a fool out of herself.

So standing outside the classroom she would be in for at least a year had her nervousness at a high. She could take on entire camps of bandits and not be this nervous, but meeting her peers was never a strong point due to lack of practice.

At least that was something she and Naruto-nii supposedly shared, lack of good social skills. Yay…

She knew it was required to go to the academy for at least a certain amount of time to get psychologically prepared, but she had been disappointed in what the Chunin standard was if the teachers were any indication. She could probably take one on.

Her line of thought was cut off as the door opened and she was motioned in. Stepping in front of the class she looked around and saw curious gazes directed at her. She bowed and introduced herself as she had practiced many times before, "I'm Uzumaki Kyoko, nice to meet you."

Glancing up from her bow nervously, she saw fear. Why had curiosity changed to fear? Was it her name? Did they associate bad things with Naruto? Probably.

It was confirmed when a boy with shaggy brown hair, a hood, a puppy on his head, and red marks on his cheeks - an Inuzuka no doubt - stood up, pointed and nearly yelled, "Are you related to that bastard, Naruto!"

A loud mouth, how typical of an Inuzuka. But he had bad mouthed Naruto. Her brother wasn't a bad person - probably - just misunderstood. Her temper flared and she gave him a withering glare, "He's my brother. And don't insult him."

The Inuzuka boy stopped and shivered before regaining his bravado. "Why'd some traitor's relative come here then?"

Her glare remained frigid. Were these people stupid or just so prejudiced as to label a whole clan with a history of loyalty traitors because of a single bad action? "Is Konoha so arrogant as to abandon its once greatest ally?" She fired back, not expecting the confusion her response garnered.

Glancing to the teacher, she could see he was quite nervous. Had they not been taught of the Uzumaki? She scowled. She may not have a close connection with her clan (those that weren't dead were scattered and in hiding after all), but her father had spoken highly of them. He had learned much from their Fuinjutsu. He even maintained his claim that a number of Uzumaki in the past surpassed his skill in the art.

"I see. Hypocritical is the one who abandons and forgets." Stomping up to an empty seat, Kyoko sat down and turned to the window, effectively closing the conversation. Their sensei, Iruka she believed, cleared his throat uneasily to start the lesson, ignoring the mention of the Uzumaki.

She just knew this was going to be a long year.

She sat there, staring listlessly for a while until finally they were led out to the training grounds before lunch. Apparently they were to have a spar and - for her - determine where she stood. The more she watched, the more she was disappointed. Iruka paired the girls with the girls and vice versa. Such a practice was not practical in the least. They needed to be prepared to face boys who were naturally stronger than them. They were far more likely to face a guy with superior physical ability than not in the field. Especially at the lower ranks.

On top of that, everyone's technique was lacking. They were told to use the academy standard, but she could clearly see the clan heirs incorporating parts of their respective clan style into it. Even with the brief time she had spent on her academy standard with Tou-san, hers was better than most of them. The only real standouts were the Hyuuga girl, Akimichi boy, and the rude Inuzuka boy. But the Hyuuga was so timid that she abstained from taking down her opponent, and the Akimichi boy stood out more for his raw power than technique. Kiba to an extent as well.

The other clan heirs - the boys anyway - noticeably held back for one reason or another, so it wasn't quite fair to judge their skill. After suffering through the embarrassment of watching how unpolished most of her classmates were, she was called to fight some civilian girl.

She refused.

Iruka sputtered not expecting that. She pointed to the three best she had seen, demanding, "I want to fight them."

Iruka was very nervous at this point, not used to such abrasive behavior. "All three of them? You shouldn't be arrogant," he tried gently, "And they are some of the best in the class, I was going to start you -"

He cut off as Kyoko glared, "None of the others are even close to my level."

That got Kiba fired up, "Hey, don't go belittling us like that! I'll take you on myself!"

She huffed, "No, I want to fight all three of you at the same time," she paused and turned to the timid girl who was now poking her fingers together nervously, "And you, Hyuuga, don't hesitate in your strikes against me. It's insulting!"

The girl stuttered, but Kyoko turned back to Iruka before she could say anything with a fire in her eyes, "Well? You gonna let me fight them?"

Iruka considered that, figuring it could teach her a lesson and he could step in before she got hurt so gave his consent.

They all entered their ready stances, the Hyuuga and Akimichi noticeably hesitant. As soon as that happened, Kiba opened his mouth to start taunting the Uzumaki, "Do you really think you can - Woah! Ow!" He was interrupted as a fist flashed past his backpedaling head and then slammed into his stomach.

Kyoko didn't stop, lashing out with a kick toward the Hyuuga who barely managed to put up a defense. Iruka looked ready to interrupt before Kiba did it for him with a cry of anger, holding a hand to his bloody nose, "Hey! He didn't say start!"

Kyoko glared dispassionately as she avoided a few hits from the large Akimichi boy, "No one waits to get the go signal in a fight. And you talk too much in a fight." Sweeping down, she knocked the Akimichi boy off balance, slipping to the side of the Hyuuga's strike and letting it land on her other opponent. Slamming her elbow into the shocked girl's face, she jumped, planting a hand on the Inuzuka's head as he charged past to assist her jump.

He stumbled but recovered quickly, standing with the other two. Kyoko smirked, motioning to bring it on. Before they - the Inuzuka really - could, Iruka interrupted, "Alright, I've seen enough and you've demonstrated your point. Everyone, time for lunch," he said as he walked back into the academy building.

Kyoko frowned at that. She had just started getting into it. Sighing, she dismissed her disappointment. Looking to her opponents she walked over, offering a hand of friendship, "Sorry about that. It's just, I didn't want to go up against someone I was going to destroy. I hope we can put this behind us and be friends," she finished with a bright smile.

The Akimichi just nodded and shook her hand. "No problem. You seem to be nice enough. I'm Choji."

Just like the Akimichi to be gentle people. She gave a smile, turning to the Hyuuga who was looking down and poking her fingers together. "What about you?" Kyoko asked.

"Ah, well," she started, "I w-would love to be your frie-friend if you'd have me K-Kyoko-san. I'm Hinata," she stuttered.

Dismissing it as embarrassment, Kyoko smiled and shook her hand as well. Finally turning to the Inuzuka, she was met with a glare. She met his stare, not backing down for a moment. They stayed like that for a dozen seconds or so before he looked away, scoffing.

"I'm Kiba," he said briefly. He stared at her a while longer, a little disdain entering his eyes, just not directed at her. "You don't act like your brother but you can fight just as good."

Kyoko tried to not look too happy at the comparison. "I don't act like him?" she questioned eager to learn about her brother, even if it was probably biased.

Kiba's face took on a sour look. Hinata and Choji also looked a bit uncomfortable. "He was a cold asshole. No one could ever touch him. He didn't gloat, but he looked at you with these eyes, man. They looked right through you as if you were a fly. He was always better, stronger no matter what we did. He barely even joined in the training the rest of us had to do."

Kyoko took that in. That didn't sound too far fetched given what Jiraiya had told her. Naruto apparently didn't look highly upon many people, much less his peers. She was about to respond, but a new voice entered the conversation that had a lazy drawl to it. "Don't be too hard on him. He wasn't too bad if you got to know him beyond getting your ass handed to you."

They turned their gazes to the new arrival. It was a boy with black hair pulled back into a ponytail that spread into a pineapple shape. That plus the intelligent eyes hidden behind a demeanor of laziness marked him as a Nara.

Kiba didn't take kindly to his defending of her brother though. He growled, "Why do you always defend him, Shikamaru? He was stuck up and arrogant even if he was good. Everyone can agree to that."

Shikamaru didn't seem at all threatened, actually yawning and scratching the side of his head. "Troublesome," he muttered. "Because no one else does. And it's not like he was all bad."

Kiba seemed to disagree as he huffed dismissively and stormed off. Shikamaru turned toward her, "Sorry about him. Naruto gets him bent out of shape cause no one could ever lay a hand on him. You wanna have lunch with us?"

Kyoko smiled back at him, "I'd love to, thanks!" she said cheerfully. Looking to Hinata, she grabbed the slowly retreating girl by the hand and started dragging her toward an unoccupied spot by a tree. "Come on Hinata, you should join us too."

Hinata stuttered but resigned herself to being dragged along. Choji smiled at them and Shikamaru muttered another 'troublesome' as they followed. As they sat down and got out lunch, Kyoko turned a curious eye to Shikamaru. "So what was Naruto like aside from what Kiba said?"

The Nara shrugged, laying down to stare at the clouds and occasionally taking a bite of his lunch - rice balls. He replied simply, "He was smart and misunderstood."

Choji looked over to Shikamaru at that, having never really heard him explain his thoughts on Naruto. "Smart like you?" He questioned.

The lazy boy just shrugged, not really answering. Choji got the message. Shikamaru started again, "Naruto was like what Kiba told you. I just think he was more disappointed than anything."

Kyoko frowned at that, not understanding. "Disappointed?"

He nodded. "Kiba and the rest might not have picked up on it, but Naruto was hardcore. It's like all he did was train. I don't know how a guy could do that," he paused. Kyoko was about to bring up Kiba's point of Naruto not working hard in class. She was answered without having to ask. "He may not have seemed to do much in class but I think he just secretly made it harder for himself with weights or something. He hid it well, but he was always tired. Like he never rested for long. There's only so far talent can get you and the way he moved had to involve a lot of training."

Hinata seemed to agree with his statement as she hesitantly spoke up, "I fo-followed him once and he wor-worked until he bled," she paused a moment and then added on, "I th-think he was an-angry no one else worked s-so hard."

Kyoko beamed a bit at that, happy to hear her brother had a reason to act the way he did rather than just having a bad personality. She also took a bit of pride in the fact that he had inherited a good work ethic from their parents.

Shikamaru shrugged at that, nodding his agreement. "He wanted someone to challenge him and train with him, I think. It was just - no one had the drive to try to keep up." He stopped, a memory clearly flashing in his eyes before he continued, "I've only really spoken to him a few times and all of them when we played shogi. The last time we played, he asked me why I didn't put effort into anything but shogi."

Kyoko stared at him, waiting for him to come out of memory lane. When he stayed silent, she quickly got impatient. "Well?" She demanded.

Shikamaru snapped out of it, biting into another rice ball. "He walked away before I said anything, but he couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice. He was definitely looking for someone to challenge him."

They all stayed silent after that. Shikamaru took a trip down memory lane, while the other three thought about all that had come out about Naruto. New opinions and friendships formed.

-o0o-

Naruto had slowly worked his way toward the Demon Gate who frequented the library. He moved just a seat closer everyday to make sure she showed no agitation. He now sat directly across from her, continuing his research on the many foreign books the library housed. He'd looked through many and while a number of them were in his native tongue or one similar enough he could get the gist of it, others were in different language systems all together. Most used the Latin alphabet as a base. What he found more interesting was the fact that quite a few used the non-elven language he'd found in the cave.

It was a starting point for translation into elvish without having to reveal he had books in that other language. Books he looked forward to reading once he decoded the language. Of course translating it all by decoding an entirely different language as his only reference was a difficult. Luckily it proved manageable with a question to Silver here and there. Translating a language was similar enough to cracking a code that you didn't have quite the right key for. And he was well versed in coding.

Currently he was trying to dig into the actual how of how magic worked. While it seemed similar enough to chakra, it obviously operated on a completely different set of rules. Chakra - generally - used a combination of the surroundings and the users chakra to create different effects. Many times, the body of the ninja adapted to use certain techniques better the more they practiced.

Water Release, for instance, drew from a combination of the environment, the chakra itself, and the body's level of water, which was why water users drank such an exorbitant amount. The Hozuki clan exemplified that final trait, with the natural ability to liquefy their bodies with a minor application of chakra. And from some very shaky estimates, about 95% of their body was made of water. Their natural connection to water was the greatest in the world - continent, Naruto had to correct himself - and one of the most notable adaptations to align with an element. The only publicly known downside was that it came with an exemplified weakness to Lightning.

Ironically, the most famous water user in history - as far as Konoha's records claimed - was the Nidaime Hokage. A close second was one of the Mizukage, though the books he had read didn't specify whether it was the Shodaime or Nidaime Mizukage. The fact that there were no clear records of when exactly they died made guessing nearly as accurate as trying to make an educated guess.

Regardless, similar things happened with the other elements - they used a combination of what was there and chakra to shape attacks. That was the general rule for all ninja arts _possibly_ barring Fuinjutsu (Fuinjutsu was a misunderstood and poorly documented art). Most ninja didn't even realize what was happening until late into their Chunin career or as a Jonin, if ever. It was just instinct and practice that let them perform those feats. He only knew it because he didn't mind digging through a lot of theory to understand what he was doing. Plus Sakumo liked to pound things he thought should be common knowledge into his head.

Magic, however, obviously operated on a different system. Silver had effortlessly called up a ton of ice in the desert where there was little to no moisture to use. So magic obviously didn't use the same principles unless Silver was just massively more powerful than he assumed.

So he'd spent the past few days immersing himself in the theory of magic. Unfortunately, much like the history and theory of other things in Konoha, people didn't seem to be real big on the specifics of how magic worked. All the research he had read so far basically amounted to this: there's a pool of stuff called magic some can feel and use to do incredible feats. There are a lot of different kinds of magic that can be used that create different effects. Magic is used in different configurations of magic circles that can sometimes be circumvented.

And that was it. Nothing about how it interacted with already existing matter or anything! It was like the idiots who wrote these books didn't know anything about physics or the scientific method and just wrote down what they saw happen a few times! Any idiot who could use his eyes could say that! Maybe not describe the intricacies and differences in magic circles and magics, but they could tell most of the general things from brief observations. It was infuriating.

He refused to accept the explanation that 'it just does.' So it would soon be time to conduct his own research into the matter by observing the grunts here - and perhaps Silver, since he was the only one he was on good enough terms with to ask for a spar.

Naruto shut the book he had just finished on the Theory of the Relationship between Magic and Words - the most coherent book on magic he had read so far - and he turned to the deciphering the odd language he had found in the ancient elven cave. Flipping open two different books that he had determined were similar in topic, he started his deciphering. Checking what he had already guessed at to confirm meaning and occasionally syntax.

As he was working, he heard a soft voice from the Demon Gate across from him for the first time, "I wonder where your story will lead?"

Glancing up, he saw her staring at him, her question obviously rhetoric. He replied regardless. This was a chance to start a conversation. "What do you mean by that?" Plus he was curious about her words.

Her melodious voice rang out again, "Everyone has a story, some more interesting than others. I wonder what has been written in yours. I wonder what obstacles it will throw at you and how you will shape it in turn."

Something about her voice compelled him to listen to her every word. It was so melodious, perfect even, that he wanted to make conversation just to continue hearing it.

Then his instincts took hold and screamed danger at him. He snapped out of the light trance immediately and peered at the Demon Gate a little more warily. He didn't think she had even been trying to coerce him into something. Her voice was just naturally hypnotic. Such a powerful ability to naturally draw people in like that. Naruto instantly assessed her to be potentially more dangerous than Mard Geer. The potential in being able to so easily draw a person in was incredible. A few well placed words to the right people and she could bring countries to their knees or throw them into civil wars without lifting a finger.

Yes, he needed to be more wary of her than Mard Geer. No one would bend him to their will any more than he deemed necessary for his benefit.

Still, her talk of the shape of his own story was intriguing. Was she disconnected from reality or just fixated on the idea of people shaping their lives like a story? He supposed it wasn't too far fetched of a way to the path of life.

She was still gazing at him, perhaps waiting for a response. He obliged, "Who knows? Life throws unexpected things at us," he paused, not wanting to reveal his past at the moment and questioned her in turn, "What is your story?"

She blinked slowly, as if surprised by his asking. Then memories and emotions flashed across her eyes. He saw pain, pleasure, hate, redemption, conflict and more cross them in an instant before settling into the calm, composed eyes he had initially found himself enthralled in. Then she spoke, her voice unaffected from the flashback she had experienced, "I do not know. I am still searching for it."

Naruto suppressed a frown at that. The emotions he had seen in her eyes were raw and genuine. Faking those to such a degree was incredibly difficult. Was she merely lying? Possible, but also unlikely. He was a master at picking out lies. Very few could lie to his face effectively. A very useful skill he had picked up over the years. And from what he'd seen, none of these mages/demons/whatever were masters of deception.

Repressed memories then? Not impossible but if so, what could be powerful enough and have the motive to forcibly suppress the memories and emotions of someone like her? He nearly shook himself at that thought. It was someone he didn't want to get on the bad side of. The suppression and possible manipulation of memories was perhaps even more formidable a power than the hypnotic-like quality the voice of this Demon Gate possessed.

Regardless of his theories, they stayed silent after that, going back to their respective books - or translation attempt in his case. Another hour flew by before he got up to stretch and exercise. As much as he liked a challenge, he didn't want to stop training. Especially now that he was nearing puberty where his growth would be highest.

He gathered his books into a pile for later perusal and asked the Demon Gate as he left, "Could I have your name?"

She replied in the same melodious, hypnotic voice he hadn't quite become accustomed to. "Seilah."

-o0o-

A few months passed and not much had changed. He continued his studies and translation attempts - with only some success - but other than that and meeting the rest of the Demon Gates - however brief - nothing much had happened.

He had become closer allies - friends perhaps - with Silver and while he hadn't made much progress with Seilah, they enjoyed the quiet companionship they gave each other. Both had never really had that, Seilah because few others bothered with the library and of those that did, none wished to gain the ire of a Demon Gate. Naruto because he was always a lone wolf and didn't want to reveal all that he was researching in Konoha.

After these months, Naruto had also found out what Seilah's power was - or at least the main one. The power to bend anyone to her will if she wished. He had only seen it used once, but it seemed her normal voice was merely a shadow of that power. It was terrifying enough without the ability to forcibly bend others to her will. With it, she got even more dangerous. Instead of having to play the long game with words, she could just force her will on others.

He was sure there were ways to counter it but he hadn't seen it enough to come up with one aside from blocking hearing. And even that might not work.

In regards to his translation attempts, he had come far enough that on his trips outside headquarters he had taken to translating the notes on the elvish books and its key to his native language. It was still a work in progress, but he was getting somewhere. The elves didn't have a normal language and seemed to have a faint magic that made it hard for others to read it even with a loose translation guide. That faint magic was probably the reason it was claimed no one other than the elves knew the language. Still, he was making slow progress and he felt he was gaining a small resistance to the elvish magic.

Other than that, he had attempted to connect with his seal to see if he could get any form of contact with the Kyuubi. Those attempts had been met with only failure. He knew it was possible in some form from the very faint pool he could occasionally feel, but it was exceedingly difficult to latch on to it. The feeling came more often now, though full contact continued to be elusive.

He had turned to the physical seal after his repeated failures to see if he could loosen it a tad to see if that gave him any headway. He quickly ran into a brick wall there as well. The seal was still way out of his league. He found that it was possible to loosen it, but creating the key to do that was so far out of his reach that it may as well be on the moon. And he couldn't very well advance his knowledge of Fuinjutsu much without a proper teacher or more advanced scrolls so he was stuck for now.

Speaking of Fuinjutsu, he was now certain nothing on the Juuchi Yosamu's sheath would cause him harm. The blade itself, well that was a question he still hadn't tested. He had been meaning to go test it on some bandits where risk was low, but Mard Geer had only stopped sending others to watch him on missions last week and he hadn't run across any bandits on the one mission he was sent on since then.

Other than that, he had taken to disciplining the grunts so they were actually a half decent fighting force instead of pure cannon fodder. They could actually work in a coherent unit now instead of clumsily allowing their attacks to hit allies.

Now he was walking through the halls of headquarters toward the first chakra signature he'd felt anywhere near here since he had joined. He had gotten the impression that he was the exception when it came to taking others into Tartaros, so he could only assume it was a prisoner. He was curious why they would take a prisoner when after all these months he had seen none. He concluded they probably thought this person knew something about whatever they were looking for on this continent.

He wanted to see if he could glean what information they wanted out of the prisoner to get a hint about what it actually was they were searching for. Plus he wanted to see what information they had on the on-goings of the rest of the Elemental Nations. He hadn't been able to get anything very useful since he had left Konoha despite starting to get a few contacts whenever he left the fortress.

Coming into a viewing room of the torture chamber, his eyes fell on the other occupant, Seilah. She never struck him as a particularly cruel person. From what he had seen, she didn't care for the suffering of others but she didn't revel in it either.

A quick look to the torturer revealed the reason for her presence. She was here for another, one who _did_ revel in the suffering of others. He turned his gaze to the current torturer, the one Seilah was enamored with for some reason - Kyouka, so called Goddess of the Slave Planet. Each of the Demon Gates, he had learned, had epithets. Some he couldn't help but wonder the origin of - Seilah's for example made little sense. Goddess of the Chill Moon? It had little correlation to her power.

Kyouka was a half-human, half-aviary creature. Her body was that of a shapely woman, while her hands and feet were talons and and claws respectively. Her head was covered by a helmet - he thought it was a helmet at least - that took the vague shape of a bird's head. The bottom was black, while the top was white with a large, circular black oval in the front. Green hair spilled from the sides, seemingly defying gravity and shaped into that of a bird's wings. She wore a form fitting black bodysuit outlined in bronze with a long, striped cape-jacket colored purple that hung behind her, covered her neck, and had long sleeves that covered her arms, also rimmed in bronze. Covering her legs was some sort of leather wrap.

She was currently whipping their prisoner who was hanging from the ceiling, arms and legs pulled apart and bound by chains. Behind the prisoner's torn clothing were welts and gashes. The prisoner was desperately trying to keep their screams in. She was only mildly successful.

Absently, he noted this person came from Hoshigakure. Quite far away, and less than ideal for getting information from considering their isolationist tendencies. But considering she was here, he figured this one was on the run or had been out on a mission far from home, so he'd give her the benefit of the doubt of knowing more than the average shinobi from Hoshi.

The prisoner had purple hair and cyan eyes, but other than that she looked fairly average.

Until he actually felt her chakra instead of using it as a homing beacon. It was far above average for Jonin. And to top it off, it seemed she had a decent handle on it even if it was being suppressed so she was unable to access it.

'Looking' a little closer, he found that there was something… unnatural about her chakra. As if her total reserves were not all hers. It almost felt artificial, like something had been used to supplement it. Something that had a potent, indescribable feel to it. He had heard Hoshigakure employed some kind of odd training ritual to their shinobi, but this was way more bizarre than he had expected. He very much wanted to find out what it was they did to accomplish this.

Sliding his gaze back to Kyouka, he frowned. She was certainly using her power to make the woman more sensitive to pain. Shinobi of this woman's caliber didn't scream out so easily. While he wasn't at all opposed to torture, the way Kyouka did it put a sour taste in his mouth. She just did the same thing over and over, only ramping up the severity of how painful something could be. There was no creativity or ingenuity in it at all.

And no matter how much pain was inflicted, if it was done the same way, those hardy enough - say a Jonin - could adapt to stand it. That was the whole point of why countless different methods were invented - so pain could be inflicted in numerous different ways. He acknowledged torture wasn't always the best way to get reliable information - in fact it was one of the worst if you couldn't tell what was a lie - but it had its uses. It was even an art form in some twisted views. His included.

Kyouka threw away the art and complexities of torture in favor of feeding her sadism. It disgusted him how someone who claimed to be the pinnacle of a torturer only did one thing.

He and Seilah continued to watch until Kyouka seemed satisfied in the pain she inflicted, despite not getting any information, and came out. She turned to Seilah, looking as if she was about to drag her away to her chambers as she liked to do after a torture session, until her eyes landed on him. Her elated demeanor deflated quickly, replaced by a sneer and a glare.

She wasn't too fond of him, being one of the most extreme human haters among the Demon Gates. He may have contributed to that distaste by being a smart ass and her perceiving that he partially took Seilah away from her. She was a rather jealous creature.

"Come to observe how a real demon tortures, ningen?" She taunted.

He scoffed, "Hardly, I was merely curious about the chakra signature."

Kyouka noticeably clenched her jaw, infuriated at how this mere human acted. Never afraid despite knowing he was surrounded by those that outclassed him including her - her! - who could cause an untold amount of pain. It was infuriating that some mere human would elevate himself as if to stand on their level.

No longer in a good mood, she stormed off to her chambers.

Seilah gave him a slightly disapproving look but kept silent. She may have an odd attachment to that creature, but her attachment to him kept her from voicing too much disapproval. It was satisfying on both a personal and petty level, knowing it also infuriated Kyouka.

He strolled into the torture chamber, watching the woman carefully. She didn't acknowledge his presence, still panting and recovering. Perhaps he could use Kyouka's attempts to his advantage and play the good guy so to speak. Unlikely, especially if she recognized him, but not a totally useless strategy. Even if it only affected her judgement unconsciously.

He stayed silent for a time, letting her relax and got her some water. She still hadn't looked up, so he decided to tilt her head up to gently force some of the fluid down. Her voice and throat were surely sore after screaming. She relaxed her muscles after a short struggle, still on guard.

He stayed silent after that, waiting for her to make the first move. After ten minutes of silence she finally spoke, though she kept her head down, "So who are you? The good cop?"

He let out a chuckle, trying to present himself as easy going, if not quite friendly, "I wouldn't say I'm the good cop per se, but I'm certainly nothing like that woman. She likes to play with her prey to satisfy her twisted desires," he paused, realizing he could gain some trust by relating to this woman, "Besides, I'm the only human in this entire base aside from yourself."

She twitched at that, chancing a quick glance up before lowering her head again. He saw a flash of something as she saw him, probably shock or horror at how young he was. "Well I guess that just means these monsters thought you vile enough to join them," she shot back with a little fire.

He smirked at that. This one had spunk. How fun. "I'm no saint, certainly, but no one who's a shinobi can claim that. Including yourself, eh?" She inhaled sharply, knowing that to be true. Not hearing a snappy response, he decided to continue their little conversation, "So who are you? And what's a Hoshi nin doing so far from home?"

She kept her silence for a few minutes and eventually she gave up her name, "Natsuhi."

"Naruto," he said in return. Her head rose a bit at that. Recognition. So she was at least mildly up to date.

"I suppose you're right that you're no saint. Konoha even brands you as a demon in human skin."

He chuckled. "They saw me as a demon far before that, I assure you." He smirked at her as she whipped her head up once she processed what he meant.

She continued staring at him, reevaluating her opinion of the boy in front of her. "So that's why you did it? Because of how you were treated?" She whispered.

Leaning against the wall, he tilted his head contemplatively, "It was one of the reasons, yes."

"And why'd you join these monsters? To get help to destroy it?"

He snorted at that. "No, of course not. Even if I asked, they would deny me. They are obsessed with reaching for their own goal, whatever that might be," He paused, taking in her reaction, before moving on, "You wouldn't happen to have an inkling as to what that goal is, would you?" he questioned casually.

He saw fear in her eyes and she clamped up, turning her eyes to the floor once more. So she at least had her suspicions. "Well? What is it? I'm curious to know what I'm fighting to accomplish."

Her voice had the slightest tremble to it when she answered, "I-I don't know exactly what they're looking for or why, but they should never get their hands on what they want."

Well that was uninformative. She could've stumbled across any number of things that made her fearful. "Why's that?"

She looked up at him, staring into his eyes, judging him. She found something because she spoke, "You can't let them find it," she whispered hoarsely, voice filled with terror.

His face twisted into that of slight annoyance, "Well I can't very well protect it if I don't even know what it is."

She clamped up again, probably realizing that he _wasn't_ on her side. He was just more amiable than the others - as long as it suited him - and she cooperated reasonably well.

Of course, he wasn't on Tartaros' side either, but he felt they offered him more, even if they wouldn't bloody tell him what the hell their objectives were. So he was more likely to side with them and she probably realized he didn't have much reason to side with her - especially since he was a Jinchuuriki. They weren't exactly the most stable of people, even among shinobi. He couldn't find any hard, unbiased statistics, but general consensus said they were unreasonable and erratic at best.

His actions in Konoha certainly didn't speak to disprove that notion.

Ah well, it was good to get information on what Tartaros was up to freely while it lasted, what little it was. Perhaps she'd be more open to other topics, such as current news. "Well, if you won't offer anything more on that, would you at least talk about anything interesting that has happened in the past few months. I haven't exactly been able to glean too much from the few times I've been sent out."

The slight tremble she had disappeared, seemingly calmed that he wouldn't push her into that particular topic for now. "What would you want to know?" She asked with a slight edge to her tone. Only the barest hint of desperation bled through. She was still on guard, but grasping for a sense of normalcy.

He shrugged, waving his hand casually, "Anything of note, really, or something you found interesting or shocking. Any developments in the Kiri civil war, any new notable S-ranks, new wars, that sort of stuff."

"Nothing in Kiri that I've heard that's up to date. The rebels have apparently been able to keep hiding well enough that they haven't been eliminated. No new wars, even relatively small ones as far as I know," she muttered, than paused, thinking for a moment. "No new big S-rank names either. However," she trailed off for a bit, seeing something in her mind's eye. "One big name has seemingly come back from the dead. And with a daughter. The Red Storm returned to Konoha a few months ago."

Naruto froze at that. That was his mother's epithet. Hadn't she been confirmed dead after the Kyuubi's attack? That was classified, he reminded himself, and had been gone when he looked. He had passed it off as a cleansing of the Uzumaki thing at the time. Maybe instead it was to conceal her survival.

But how was that possible? No one survived Bijuu extractions, much less the extraction of the most powerful one - forcefully at that.

And a daughter? Even if she had somehow survived, he would've expected her to be weakened considerably, requiring months, perhaps years of to have another child after such a trying experience? Ludicrous. Perhaps he could accept that she had fully recovered somehow, but having another child? No. They had to be adopted. The only other feasible way she could have a child was if the daughter was his twin. And that seemed far less likely than just adopting a kid.

He put the thought aside. It didn't matter for now. This revelation brought up another question - if his mother had survived, had Minato? It was possible - especially considering no history books ever specified what it was that had killed him. They all claimed he had lost his life killing the Nine-Tails so they couldn't name a specific cause or injury. The closest he could find to a plausible explanation was that he had used a forbidden sealing technique. That had been in some classified files Sakumo had helped him attain. It was a useless report considering he could've extrapolated that much just by studying Fuinjutsu. Most books started with extreme examples of what was possible to get the reader hooked.

And if he _was_ still alive, then where the hell was he? His return would've created enough waves that even the Daimyo, who cared little for the specifics of their shinobi forces, would've heard about it. Frustratingly, he couldn't find an answer without more information on the circumstances of his death. This was becoming a theme he was very quickly growing tired of. Always missing a few pieces of information.

Still, why would his mother and sister return now? Why hadn't they just stayed in Konoha if they were alive? Too many questions and not enough intel. Truly one of the few things that infuriated him and drove him at the same time.

Luckily, an answer to one came soon. He might not know why they left, but the timing of when they returned was too perfect. She said they had reappeared a few months ago. That placed their arrival just after he had slaughtered the Uchiha. So it was to boost Konoha's perceived power to prevent a war?

Very probable. He knew killing the Uchiha would make waves and there was a decent chance another Great Shinobi War breaking out because of it. If not immediately, then a contributing factor in one that would start in a few years. The Red Storm on her own - if she hadn't lost any of her strength (and possibly compensated for her loss of the Kyuubi) - wasn't worth the entire Uchiha clan. Still, she was a formidable opponent. Her presence would create enough waves to prevent a Great War from coming within a few years.

Of course this all assumed her strength at her supposed death. Time would tell whether or not she was significantly stronger or weaker than when she disappeared. Given a short recovery time and the drive to improve herself, not to mention the freed portion of her own chakra that had been used to maintain her seal, she could easily be S-rank.

He didn't really care all that much about her current strength comparatively to the how of her survival. He had long since detached himself from any parental influence he longed for - now he was merely fascinated in finding out how Kushina had survived. Naruto ignored and squashed the small part of him that was hurt at how she only revealed herself now. What's done was done and it no longer mattered.

Turning his focus back to Natsuhi, he glared. He saw pity in her eyes. He didn't need that. He had grown and taken control of his own fate without it. No one had offered it when he wanted it and now he despised it.

Turning swiftly, he walked out. Seilah was still there, now an evaluating glint in her eye. He ignored it, voicing the question he had neglected to ask in favor of getting up to date with events, "So what is it exactly that you're trying to get out of her?"

She eyed him a moment longer, then, to his surprise, gave an actual answered, "We wish to know where to find the object she used to supplement her power."

He deadpanned at the answer, "Well forget interrogating her then. I can make a damn good guess as to where it is without her saying anything. And if I'm wrong, I'm sure we can find someone easier to break than her."

Seilah eyed him at that, judging his confidence before nodding in acceptance. She turned to leave the room, no doubt to inform Mard Geer or Kyouka of it. He turned back to Natsuhi, now almost certain he had sealed the woman's fate. She would be kept around until they came back from their trip just to make sure but her death was now a quickly approaching inevitability.

A little unfortunate considering this woman would make a fantastic opponent. He supposed he could ask Mard Geer to allow her to fight him and die that way instead of dying like a fly. She deserved to at least die on her feet, fighting. He left the chambers after that, anticipating his departure for Hoshigakure to find the secret behind their training - and why Tartaros would be interested in it.

* * *

Man, I blasted through these last couple chapters. Don't expect me to keep up the pace. I'm starting to get a little more busy. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Comments welcome. Beta welcome. And if you'd like me to put a teaser of the next chapter at the end of these, say so and I will.


	5. Walking the Line

**Chapter 5: Walking the Line**

" _To rely solely on an object to win your battles is the height of stupidity." - Naruto Uzumaki_

* * *

Several days later, Seilah and Naruto had arrived in Bear Country. The journey had taken them through several countries, a mountain, and a few close encounters with foreign shinobi. Bandits were easily avoided and he had set their path specifically to avoid the thrice damned desert. He could navigate it better than that first time but he still wasn't fantastic at it and sandstorms were awful to travel through.

Now they just needed to figure out exactly where Hoshigakure was. He knew precious little about it other than the fact that it was surrounded by forest and was near Mountain Country and Earth Country's borders.

Still, it shouldn't be terribly difficult to find. If he got within two miles or so of it, he should be able to sense the chakra radiation from it. The only other people who used chakra in any notable amount were the Samurai and the capital of Bear Country was roughly 80 miles from where Hoshigakure should be, so it wouldn't take long to sweep through its possible locations.

The days spent with Seilah on the way here had been mostly quiet, interspersed with slightly informative conversation. She had deemed him trustworthy enough to inform him that what they were looking for was a failed experiment of someone with great connection to Tartaros and their goals. Apparently they had been trying to create an item that would supplement a person's growth when training in close proximity to it.

It had been a partial success, since it came at the cost of a great deal more time needed near the stone than anticipated and radiation damage over time. The creator of the item had deemed it a failure and threw it away or launched it or something. The details of what he did to it weren't terribly clear, only that it still existed.

It was fascinating to him, though. Creating something that supplemented abilities merely by being in proximity to that item? He had read a theory or two on something similar and studies on things like that happening in large villages on a smaller scale, explaining some of why the larger villages tended to produce more shinobi with higher reserves.

It was a controversial study, granted, as many pointed to more ancient clans as more of a cause rather than a centralized location. Regardless, it had some ground to stand on. The argument had been built on the foundation that larger villages had more chakra radiation, thus more ambiance people "absorbed" into their own reserves.

For this man to accomplish the same feat in what was implied as a larger scale with a small object was nothing short of phenomenal. He very much wanted to study whatever it was to see how the inventor had accomplished such a feat. Perhaps see if he could replicate and improve upon it. It would also be an interesting study to see _exactly_ why and how it affected people negatively.

It was unfortunate that he likely wouldn't get much time to study it on account of Tartaros wanting it. Still, he'd make the most of the time he had and interrogate members of the village on its uses.

Flying through the trees, he extended his senses, relying on his experience in tree hopping. It took only three hours of combing after they entered Bear Country for him to sense a chakra rich area. Turning, he and Seilah soon arrived at the village. It was smaller than he expected. Really, it could barely even be called a village.

That, however didn't surprise him so much as what he could now sense from this range. The ambient chakra from a place this size should be far, far less than it was. A byproduct, no doubt, of this artifact. Such an amazing output from a single object. It was even relatively spread out, bar one particular spot that was far more dense than the rest of the village. More dense, even, than the Forest of Death.

That was undoubtedly the location of the object they were searching for. With such a beacon, he didn't need to interrogate anyone of this village. Still, he might as well play dumb for a time and see what the locals thought of it. See if he could find any symptoms of the disease it caused.

He motioned for Seilah to come with him and to stay out of sight. A woman with horns, after all, would easily draw attention.

Infiltrating the village took barely any effort at all. Really, the security was pathetic. Dozing guards, barely anyone making rounds to check the surroundings. Either they were arrogant or completely oblivious.

He quickly made his way through the shadows to a bar, killing a Hoshi nin on the way and taking his headband as a way to gain entrance without much question. A quick _**Henge** _before he walked in and he looked similar to the man he had knocked out, brown hair, blue, droopy eyes, and sharp features. He made his features just different enough that he wouldn't have to act on the fly if someone who knew this guy tried to talk to him.

Dropping into a seat at the bar, he gave a sigh and put his head down. The bartender glanced at him as he tended to another patron. "Rough mission?" He asked.

He groaned, "You've got no idea. Been out for what seems like a few months."

The bartender nodded sympathetically. "I've been there. Here," he said and filled up a masu, setting it down gently, "On the house."

He raised the sake in thanks, draining half of it. Naruto gave a sigh as he choked down a cough. Sake was not his drink of choice. "That's what I needed. Especially after these symptoms getting worse." Here he noticed the bartender wince and nod in agreement.

"Yeah, it's tough dealing with that. How is it?"

He shook his hand in a so-so manner, "Eh, I can keep going another few months or so before I can't do field work anymore."

He drained the last of his saké and slapped down some ryo for another. "Can't believe they lettin' kids train that way. It'll just rid the village of the most promisin' kids. The Hoshikage is running us into the ground," He slurred slightly. That was probably playing it up a little much after a single drink.

The bartender gave him a sharp look. "You shouldn't say things like that. Don't let the alcohol make your lips too loose."

He shrugged, giving Seilah a predetermined signal in the wave of his arms to kill everyone in the bar he wasn't talking to. He heard her sweet voice drift over him, felt the slightest of her aura permeate the air, and then everyone in the bar cut their throats open. She truly did have a terrifying ability.

The bartender looked around frantically, body frozen and eyes terrified. He calmed them quickly, letting off a pulse of chakra. It did nothing. The terror came to the forefront of his eyes again. "What… what is this?" He choked out.

Grabbing the whole bottle of saké as he stood up, he waved it idly and poured three rounds of it. Seilah came up behind him and sat to his side as he set the three rounds in front of the only living residents of the bar. "And so a new chapter begins," he heard Seilah mutter.

Her odd way of speech had grown to be somewhat endearing. He smirked as he saw the bartender take in her form, quickly landing on the horns and terror really took over.

"It seems you're a decent bar tender and actually pay attention to the on goings of the village. We want to know all about the secret training method you employ. Consequences, results, anything you know," he raised his drink, pouring it back as Seilah took a tentative sip herself.

Resolve slowly formed in his eyes, but great fear was still there. "I'll never tell anything to you monsters," he snarled lowly.

Naruto let out a forlorn sigh, "That's too bad, because one way or another, you will spill your guts," he paused, getting an idea to test his infamy. Slowly, he let his Henge melt away, revealing his true form. He watched the man carefully, seeing confusion, followed quickly by recognition and more terror. So he did have something of a reputation. Something to use to his advantage in the future. "I'll tell you what, answer willingly, accurately, and with some useful intel, and I'll let the kids who run survive. If not, I'll hunt down every single one."

Anger entered the bartender's eyes. That anger gave fuel to the war of resignation vs. the will to fight. "They were prepared for the consequences of becoming shinobi," he spat.

"Maa, Maa, I don't think that's true. Besides," his eyes sharpened and stared straight through the man, "You don't care much for where this village is headed yourself. Why should you care what happens to one that abandoned you. At least save the next generation."

Resignation won out after that, the flames of defiance dying to mere sparks. "Fine," he grunted out, "I'll tell you."

Naruto was disappointed in the information given. Almost all of it he could've extrapolated from what he already knew. The only thing he learned were some specifics of the symptoms of prolonged exposure to what they claimed was a meteor. Rubbish from what he'd been told by Seilah, but he didn't discount the possibility of it being a meteor the man Tartaros was obsessed with used as a base for experimentation.

"Well," the blonde said as the bartender finished, "That was utterly uninformative. Still, you were cooperative so have a last drink before you meet your end," he offered, holding out the third, untouched masu to the man. Seilah allowed the man to move his arm enough to take it. His trembling hand lifted it to his mouth, as if to take a drink, then flicked it at Naruto in a final act of defiance.

Naruto dodged it effortlessly. Such a slow attack could never catch him off guard. Turning swiftly, he left, trusting Seilah would end the man.

He marched toward the center temple of the village, intending to finish this mission. Standing directly outside the temple, he once more put on a Henge to distort his features. No need to take chances in gaining an even higher bounty than what he already had for now. He wasn't ready to take on S-class ninja who might find his bounty enticing enough to come after.

He took a deep breath, feeling the wind, bending it to his will in an instant and letting it all out at once. The only warning to those inside was the brief flare his chakra gave. He let out several more gales of wind, adding in fire for good measure, then took in the destruction he had caused. The previously beautiful temple was in shambles and burning. Half a dozen houses behind it had sustained major damage and a few had even caught on fire.

Ninja were rushing out and around, frantically putting out fires, trying to save those who were trapped, and - the largest group - looking for the cause. Their eyes quickly locked onto his blurred and wavering form, like a ghost in the wind. Terror came into some eyes, an unholy rage in others.

Before they could act, a form burst from the smoking remains of the temple, carrying a smaller, very bloody form.

The larger form set the body of what soon became clear was a boy, around his age. Inconsequential, he had expected as much. The man, however radiated a presence that was different than anyone else in the village. He could see how the other ninja reacted to the man's presence. Deference, respect, and awe. This was the Hoshikage.

He was a very lean man. Tall with a gaunt face. He had a Hoshi hitai-ate proudly shown on his forehead, light blue eyes, and gray hair. He was bleeding in several places, most prominent was the blood flowing across his closed eye. The extravagant purple and cyan clothes he wore were ripped and sullied by ash.

His features filled with fury as the man glared at him. This Hoshikage was truly arrogant if he claimed to be on the same level of the other Kage. He guaranteed any other true Kage would've had their clothes dirtied by that at best.

"How dare you," he muttered out venomously. "How dare you attack my village!" He snarled. The man erupted into a purple blaze, chakra blazing far higher than he had any right to possess. The effects of the artifact, it seemed, were both different and greater than he expected.

Lifting his headband, he obscured his Sharingan eye to make certain he wasn't identified. It revealed an interesting phenomenon. The man's chakra was drawing on others in the area. Fascinating. Was that a practiced ability exclusive to training with the artifact? Considering the man wasn't drawing from his own chakra, it likely required others to have had some exposure to it.

Not wanting to let him to continue drawing endlessly, he spawned a dozen clones to eliminate the others and kill any who attempted to escape.

Feeling a tug on his mind, he turned some attention to the Juuchi Yosamu. It was begging to be drawn. He could feel it. ' _What the hell,'_ he thought, ' _it's not like I was planning on leaving survivors.'_

He grinned, reached to the handle and unsheathed it. His chakra exploded around him and blood lust filled the area. So intense, nothing like anything he'd ever created himself. What awesome power this weapon held. His grin widened as blood lust filled every cell in his body.

Pushing off towards the Hoshikage, he slashed. It was dodged easily, but only the purple shroud of chakra prevented him from being cut in half by the wind he had shot from the sword. Naruto pushed forward, not stopping or slowing in his assault, countering any meager attempt at a counterattack. "Come on, come on! Is that all you've got! Pathetic!"

The man's features contorted in an amalgam of emotion and he let out a scream of rage, the previously unshaped purple miasma forming a serpentine dragon. Naruto dodged its attacks, swiftly hopping from one place to another. Wanting to both test the blade and keep this battle from going too long, he planted his feet and ran at the dragon. Raising the sword, he cut a path through the dragon straight to the man behind it. The Hoshikage's eyes widened in shock, but he showed he hadn't become the leader of his village just by pure power as he avoided the stab towards his heart and the following slashes and jabs, retreating all the while.

The man glanced around him, noticing his shinobi were dropping like flies to his clones - and Seilah when they foolishly attacked her. The Hoshikage's glare intensified. Naruto smirked. The older man clenched his fists, but showed some restraint as he didn't immediately charge. Not wanting to give the man time to prepare, Naruto charged again, intending to draw first blood; however, his plans were put on hold as his opponent took to the skies on a pair of newly formed wings.

Naruto observed the technique for a moment, only mildly taken off guard. Few shinobi could fly, after all. But he could tell this version was among the most wasteful he would ever see. The amount of chakra that bled off the wings was not insane, but combined with the initial cost told him enough. There was no way it was meant to be used in prolonged battles. It seemed to be a theme with this man and those who practiced a similar style. There was incredible raw power and reasonable control to shape it, thus making it versatile, but it was still ridiculously wasteful.

Pulling Juuchi Yosamu back, he channeled a great amount of wind chakra through it. Grind into a fine line, sharpen, and then - release.

The blade of wind soared through the sky at great speed. The Hoshikage was able to dodge, but not enough to keep it from clipping a wing. Naruto continued in this pattern, not letting up his assault for a second. Each slash took off a small chunk of the wings.

The Hoshikage seemed to figure out that this wasn't a battle of endurance he could win and swiftly descended in a dive. He cut off his wings, reforming them into the maw of a dragon as he hurled at Naruto with speed too great to completely avoid. Naruto grinned. Perhaps this man wasn't spineless in a battle after all. It was a somewhat stupid attempt at an attack considering what he'd shown, but it was one of this man's few options. Naruto readied the bloodthirsty sword, his eagerness matching the sword's.

The man was upon him, and like when he first tried, he slashed straight through the dragon, Juuchi Yosamu too much for such a meager showing. It continued on its quest for blood, Hoshikage having no time to avoid as his arm and part of his chest was removed. Blood flew and splattered Naruto, making his phantom-like form all the more intimidating.

Naruto turned to skewer the man again, intent on relieving the man of his head, but was unprepared for the hand that nearly pierced straight through his stomach. Had his instincts not been honed as they were, it would've. As it was, he was only missing an inch or so of his abdomen.

He fought off a meager attempt at Taijutsu, digging his hand into his opponent's stump and using it as a pivot point to rotate above and behind him. The cry of pain that followed amplified as he grazed the man's back with his bloodthirsty sword.

The older man showed he still had some grit left in him as he turned and threw a flare of sharpened chakra. They were easily dodged and the fight was over. The last attempt of the leader of Hoshigakure to save his village ended in only a mild wound of their invader.

Despair filled the eyes of those few still alive or conscious. Naruto turned his attention to those few still left, determining his clones could take care of them. They were exhausted and their will to fight drained. They were no longer a threat. Instead he turned his attention to the ruins of the temple he had first destroyed. He could feel the presence of the artifact clearly in the center of the debris.

Feeling a slight tug on his mind, he turned his attention towards Juuchi Yosamu once more. He frowned. It was 'pulling' him to the waning battles. Urging him to bloody its blade further. Such a bloodthirsty sword. Deciding he needed to test how it reacted to various stimuli further, he found the slight connection he had to each of his clones and ordered them to capture the few remaining survivors. That done and the sword's incessant whining dampened, he turned back to where he felt the artifact.

A quick application of wind blew most of the debris away and the rest was easily removed. Setting his eyes on the so-called meteorite for the first time, he admitted it did look like a stereotypical meteor. Round with a number of craters in it, almost like a mini moon were it not for the purple miasma flaring up around it.

Naruto was curious and was sorely tempted to crack it open and see how it worked once more, but knew it would only cause trouble for him. He didn't know why Tartaros wanted this and he would rather not draw their wrath by accidentally breaking it in some way.

So he sealed it up and walked over to where his clones were securing the last of the prisoners. Seilah was watching him intently, curious as to why he had left survivors no doubt.

As he approached them, he spread his senses to their limit to be sure no one was escaping or observing them. He found no one. Satisfied, he raised Juuchi Yosamu, watching its bloodstained blade gleam in the sun. As a drop fell to the ground, he turned his eyes to the man it fell in front of. His eyes held little terror, only solemn resignation and hatred.

He pointed the tip of his blade to the man's forehead, feeling Juuchi Yosamu almost vibrate in excitement. When he didn't immediately strike, instead choosing to speak, he could almost feel the blade's disappointment. It was an odd feeling to get from a sword. "Any last words?" he asked. Normally he didn't care for honor or anything like it, but he was prone to bouts of it due to Sakumo's influence. The man himself wasn't totally bound by honor as the samurai were. He just preferred it when disregarding honor was unnecessary. And when you were Hatake Sakumo, disregarding honor was not something that was often a necessity.

The man didn't exactly take this well. He spat at him and glowered, "You offered no such courtesy to the others. I will not shame them by doing so when they were not offered the same."

Naruto shrugged and thrust the sword through the man's eye, focusing all his attention on Juuchi Yosamu. The blade reveled in the flesh around it and almost seemed to drink something. A little blood, certainly, but also something deeper. He couldn't tell much else with his current sensing abilities. The Sharingan was no help in discerning anything further either.

Moving on to the next in line, he repeated the process, trying different areas and methods of attack to see if there was any difference. No matter what he did, though, the sword's reaction was about the same. Hunger for blood, then partial satisfaction.

Finally, he reached the last prisoner. The boy he had seen the Hoshikage pull from the building. He was only now stirring into consciousness. As he looked up, Naruto was struck by his features. The hair and eyes were different, but the facial features were the same. This boy was almost certainly related to Natsuhi. Nephew or son most likely.

Unluckily for the boy, he was not a sentimental person. His only interest in Natsuhi came from recognizing her strength. She had a sliver of his respect for that strength. That certainly didn't extend to the boy. Still, his presence gave him an idea.

Natsuhi would no doubt feel despair when they returned. The fact that they returned with her village's precious meteorite would lead her to the correct conclusion that her people had been eradicated. This would likely entirely negate her will to fight. He wanted to fight her at her best. The Hoshikage had provided a mild challenge, but he was obviously out of practice and not at his best. Natsuhi, on the other hand, was at - or at least near - the top of her game.

The fight he wanted from her might not happen at all without some motivation. And in his experience, almost nothing motivated people to fight harder than protecting a loved one. The boy would live for now, but only until he beat Natsuhi. Or she beat him. He cared little for the outcome as long as he lived. He'd benefit from either outcome.

Mind made up, he slammed the pommel of his bloodthirsty blade into the boy's head, knocking him unconscious for the second time that day. Shouldering his body, he turned to Seilah who raised a brow in question as he motioned to leave. "We're done here. Night will be upon us soon and I'd rather rest a bit before we leave," here he motioned to the missing chunk of his torso he'd nearly forgotten about in his desire to test his blade.

Turning towards one of the relatively intact looking buildings, he marched on. He absentmindedly summoning a few clones to rummage through the ruins for anything useful while he was busy.

Seilah followed him, her question finally being vocalized, "Why spare the boy?" She questioned.

"To give some motivation to Natsuhi to fight her best," he replied shortly. Accepting the explanation, she followed, sitting down in the first chair in the house to watch him as he gave himself a little first aid and then prepared some food.

-o0o-

Kushina was not in a good mood. Not at all. She was now in a foul mood almost as often as she had been during the Third Great Shinobi War. An impressive feat to be sure. She'd like to blame it on the idiot in front of her but that wasn't fair to him. He was merely the bearer of bad news.

It was her estranged son's actions that were the cause of her headache. Or rather, possible actions. Hoshigakure had recently been destroyed. No one knew by who, only that they could use wind and fire, and that it was likely a small group of people or even a single person.

A war had started brewing as a result. The Lands of Wind, Earth and Mountain were looking to expand their territory. Jiraiya had told her that he was pretty sure Naruto had done it. Or was at the very least involved.

Now Jiraiya was many things. Unreliable in his information was not one of them. He hadn't told her how he had guessed that but she trusted him. That he couldn't prove his theory was besides the point. When he wasn't acting like a fool, Jiraiya was an incredibly intelligent man. One who didn't make accusations with no weight behind them.

This piece of information made her realize how far away her son was. He had single handedly started what was looking to be a war. The Uzumaki had done it before, but not one that looked to be this large to her knowledge.

They tended to piss a lot of people off with their brash attitudes after all. Daimyo's and such usually didn't take well to that attitude and had started wars for it in the past. Of course, they had learned diplomacy and hadn't started anything major in the last hundred years. That didn't mean they were always diplomatic and peaceful. Many Uzumaki actually enjoyed combat, herself included. Regardless of that fact, she didn't fancy fighting another war.

...Unless she could kill some of those Kumo bastards. Maybe even a few Iwa and Kiri bitches mixed in to spice things up.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't so opposed to going to war herself. She was more scared for her daughter and the other children. Even if Naruto was technically still a kid, he had made his choices. He'd have to live with them.

She also denied the pride that swelled at the fact that her son was capable of taking out an entire hidden village on his own. No matter how weak of a village they were. ' _Bad Kushina,'_ she scolded herself, ' _The death of so many innocents is nothing to feel pride over.'_

She tried to stop the smile that came to her face.

Jiraiya's deadpan look told her that she had failed.

"What?" She said defensively, "It's impressive!" Then she slumped into depression, doing a complete 180, "And I wasn't there to help him along at all! I'm a terrible mother!" She cried in self-loathing.

' _Yep,'_ Jiraiya thought, ' _She's still bipolar as ever.'_

"Kushina." he said sternly. The woman systematically shut down her emotional response at the tone. "This is serious. As impressive as Naruto might be, he's still an unknown variable. Both to us and the rest of the world. His motivations are a mystery. He's stayed off the radar for months, so why would he risk something this big?"

Kushina nodded, agreeing that this situation didn't much sense. Nothing had been traced to Naruto since his disappearance. There were rumors, but nothing concrete. This, flimsy as it sounded, was their first clue to his whereabouts.

Jiraiya had said Naruto was extremely cautious and Itachi had confirmed it. So the question of why he would do something this big remained, if he was indeed responsible. It was bound to get the attention of the entire continent. Or at least a good majority of it. People would be looking into who could possibly be responsible.

The list of people known to have the capability to eradicate a weak hidden village single-handedly was pretty short. And anyone worthy to be sent there would know it was the work of one person. A person capable of that had to be at least A-rank. While there were quite a few of those, the number capable of Wind based Ninjutsu of that level were few. And most of them were from Suna.

While the general public would accept that it was a Suna-nin -or anyone they're told really - other hidden villages would look at it with more scrutiny. While some might accept it was Suna, others would put a lot of resources into finding out who was that capable. And if people started to put together who had done it, Naruto would gain a lot of attention.

So either he had been extremely confident in his anonymity or he had somehow felt forced into it. Regardless of which it had been, Naruto supposedly had more than one reason for doing anything, so figuring out those reasons and his state of mind were important to predicting his movements.

And with him moving so little, it was quite difficult to predict any of his movements. Itachi had said Naruto seemed obsessed with learning and exploring new places, ruins particularly, but that was little to go off.

There were far too many ruins, explored and undiscovered, to keep an eye on. As for learning, there were many places he could learn a great deal of subjects and Itachi had told them Naruto liked to learn whatever he could. That could mean he was anywhere on the continent.

The only concrete thing they had to go off was the initial direction he fled and his cautious nature. They had thought he settled in southern Wind Country or River Country for a short time before moving on, owing to his caution. Naruto would only stay in one place if felt he had found somewhere that was both safe and filled with knowledge. Those were not easy criteria to fill.

He would have to trust in luck that no one would recognize him in a crowded area or find a place far out of the way with things to learn. The first wasn't too difficult to find in southern Wind Country, but the latter was. So while they believed he had stayed in Southern Wind Country, that could be proven false with how he had attacked Hoshigakure.

It wasn't a terribly long journey for a shinobi, but they felt Naruto would not see taking the time to destroy Hoshigakure as worth it to take over a week of travel time.

Now they would have to reassign their area of search. The Hokage would not be pleased. He had expressed his interest and fondness of Naruto a number of times. Kushina personally didn't trust the Hokage's intentions despite what he said. She knew terribly things could (and probably would) be done to him if he was ever caught and taken back to Konoha. Which was why she wanted to find him first. So she could take her children away.

She hadn't considered it until recently. She hadn't thought they'd be able to survive. Or at the very least, not be able to truly live. Now, seeing Naruto flourish, she decided it might be possible. With a few more allies and Kyoko becoming more skilled, they might be able to do it.

That was a bridge she would have to cross when she actually found him. For now, they had to inform the Hokage and set up a new area to search.

-o0o-

Naruto pushed the boy he had brought back to the ground in front of Natsuhi. Her eyes were wide and her body healed. The glare she sent his way was so venomous, he might've wilted had he any sympathy. As it was, it excited him, knowing that she would certainly fight her best now.

"What have you done?" She whispered out venomously.

"I've done only what I had to. Perhaps if you had told me what you feared so much from that stone, I would've prevented it. Besides, I'm a shinobi. I look out for myself and what benefits me most."

Her body started shaking in absolute rage. "You're intelligent! You should be able to figure it out yourself!"

Naruto snorted, "What? That it could strengthen them even more than they already are? Perhaps, but even if it did and even if they did not suffer any symptoms, it wouldn't matter," her stare of disbelief told him what she thought of that. He continued, heedless of her stare, "There would be those that would rise above them. They are powerful now, certainly, and will become stronger with the meteorite, but there are others that could stop them. Your fear is unfounded."

Her glare at him continued, "Even so, you wouldn't want them stopped, would you? They benefit you. But that's not really why I feared you going after the stone. It could start a war you foolish child!" she spat as if scolding a child.

Naruto remained unfazed, "I did know that. In fact, I even count on it. War breeds strength and brings out the greatest of a country. I wish to face war to give myself the experience I lack that the older generation already holds." He paused, giving her an even stare before grabbing the hair of the boy in front of him and pulling his head back. He ignored the cry of pain it caused. "You know," he said conversationally, "This is the only survivor from Hoshigakure. I killed all the rest."

Natsuhi's glare intensified. "I felt sympathy for you. I thought you might've just been misunderstood. That you had some morals. It seems I was wrong."

The blonde chuckled at the naivety of her statement. "You misunderstand. I do have some morals that were beaten into me. They're just twisted in the eyes of many."

She stayed silent and he reached back to Juuchi Yosamu and cut her shackles off.

Her subsequent attack was predictable and easily deflected. "Save that for a proper battlefield," he said. She didn't listen, pressing the attack and attempting to get him away from the boy. He drew back, putting a knife to the boy's throat. That got her to pause her assault. "If you can beat me I'll let you and the boy go," he offered.

She licked her lips nervously, fidgeting slightly as she responded, "And what guarantee do i have that you'll keep your word?"

"You don't," he deadpanned, thinking her foolish for even asking, "Only my word. You should know how these things work."

Her soft features twisted into a hard scowl, knowing he was right. "Fine," she bit out, "Lead the way."

Naruto nodded and threw the boy over his back as he lead her to the training grounds. He found Seilah waiting there, likely as insurance and to report his progress.

He threw the boy to the ground against the stands, unworried about his potential interference. He walked to the other end of the room and as he got there, felt his instincts flare as he automatically dove to the side.

He smirked at the crater that was now in the place he had been standing. "Feisty and playing dirty. I like it," he muttered with a smirk.

He got no more time to talk after that as Natsuhi was on him and striking in fast paced, fury filled attacks. It was faster than anything he'd defended against bar Sakumo - Shisui and Itachi not included since they never went all out on each other.

He felt his battle and blood lust appear with more vengeance than ever. He was forced on the defence, deflecting strikes at his chest and face to the side, thrown in with an occasional attempt at a block and counter.

They were all useless, she pulled back faster than he could get a grip to flip her. He retreated, only to be pressed further. He finally hit the wall and used it as a springboard to jump over her and slam a foot down onto her head. She raised her arms, blocking easily, but he accomplished his goal of retreat as he used the arms as a push off point, drawing Juuchi Yosamu midair.

She didn't let him off for long, closing the distance again, this time with purple chakra cloaking her form. He pumped chakra to his muscles unrestrained to match her pace. The sword only evened the fight. It sliced through her cloak with ease, but she deflected the blade to the side with the expertise of a master.

It seemed he still needed to get used to the size of the blade. He was more used to wielding a tanto than a katana.

Coating the blade in wind would provide little benefit. Her chakra would merely counter his own when redirecting his strikes, and he didn't have the reflex ingrained enough to send blades of wind flying on a whim. He could do it fast, but not as fast as they were going.

He switched to one handed wielding for barely a second to pull out explosive tags and almost got his sword knocked out of his hand for his trouble. He threw some behind her and let off a custom flash bang in her face, giving him a second of reprieve.

He noticed the bombs only frayed her clothes and gave her minor burns. The fact that she charged him with near zero hesitation showed she could fight blind.

However, the loss of vision cost her some coordination and he gained a brief upper hand, landing a few grazing cuts before she jumped back. Her startled look told him she finally recognized something odd about his sword. "That sword…" she trailed off, "What kind of monstrous sword is that?"

Naruto tilted his head, puzzled by her tone. Sure, the sword was weird, but he hadn't noticed anything too odd other than the fact that it could cut things so effectively. He had actually been a little disappointed with all the fear surrounding its history and smith. Perhaps it wasn't as plain as it had first appeared if Natsuhi acted so startled.

As much as he tended to discredit the majority of humanity, he acknowledged some few were great and had far more experience than him. If Natsuhi thought something special about the sword, it was worth looking into. Not now, though. He was still in battle.

Taking the time she had given, he spawned some clones and engaged her again to keep her occupied. They couldn't do much besides observe and set traps at the pace they were moving, but that would be plenty. He was a master at setting the field to his advantage.

He kept up the pace, not matching her blow for blow, but doing enough to keep her away. After all, Sakumo was far faster and he had to learn to keep up with that to at least stand a chance for a few seconds. This was a piece of cake comparatively.

And then, she sped up exponentially. He was unprepared and took a few good hits before he adjusted, getting a few cracked ribs and cuts for his complacency.

Once again he cursed his arrogance and battle lust that blinded him. Despite his attempts to rid himself of those flaws, he could never knock them completely. Hanging around Itachi, Shisui, and Sakumo could only curb his arrogance so much. Especially considering he'd seen none of them for the past few months and rarely been defeated in that time. The Demon Gates of Tartaros were strong, yes, but the only one he had ever had a spar with was Silver. And that was rare, so when his wins started piling up, his hated arrogance also reared its ugly head.

As for his battle lust, he had determined he would never be rid of it entirely regardless of his many hours of meditation. It was part of him. Still, he really needed to control it better to keep it from getting in the way of his efficiency in combat. He needed to find a way to focus and direct it in a way that wouldn't harm him. Plus, Juuchi Yosamu seemed to have amplified it, so it was only going to get worse if he didn't fix it.

That was an ongoing problem he'd have to start remedying after this battle.

Leading Natsuhi around the now thoroughly trapped battlefield led to little success. Some traps tripped her up, but she recovered before he could do anything debilitating. If he didn't get any good hits in soon, he would lose. Already the pain and awkwardness of moving with broken bones was affecting his performance.

A sharp pain in his chest alerted him to a hit to his broken rib. Grimacing, he pushed through it and fought on more ferociously in an attempt to push her back. It worked for all of a few seconds.

Their exchange lasted only a couple minutes longer before his legs were shaking terribly and his face was caked with his blood. Natsuhi was fairing quite a bit better, only sporting a single major cut, a few burns, and some small cuts.

The difference between him and someone with superior experience, power, and skill showed more clearly here. Sakumo had only beat on him and he had never stood a chance. This was a much closer fight.

A sudden punch through his guard caught him in the chest, caving it in and puncturing his lung. And he realized he had nearly lost. He was coughing up blood and it was becoming difficult to move and breathe. He may have said he didn't care if she won, but he _hated_ losing. He would win this, overcome this challenge.

Through hazy, bloodshot eyes, he saw Natsuhi rushing in for the final blow. He refused to be taken down so easily. He let out an animalistic roar, forcing his body past his injuries and brought Juuchi Yosamu to bear, feeling _something_ aid him. Something primal and powerful. He ignored it and used the strength it gave him to push past Natsuhi's guard, shock having made her drop it for a fraction of a second.

His blade bit into her flesh, rending her chest cavity open. Her cry of pain and the boy's cry of anguish was lost to him as he tore into her further, barely able to move to put up any defense. Her purple chakra cloak was easily overcome and he finally calmed down after she was lying on the floor, her innards spilling out, and the light of life leaving her eyes.

The burst of energy he had felt died, and suddenly he was exhausted and wracked with pain. From the corner of his eye he saw the boy sobbing and preparing for a run at him. Seilah came up behind him, whispered in his ear and suddenly the boy was ripping his own throat out. A terrifying power indeed.

Naruto tried to move on his own, to get up, but was met with little success. Suddenly Seilah stood over him and he could see only her face. Had she gotten the ability to detach her head from her body when he wasn't looking?

But the darkness of unconsciousness called to him and he accepted. Seilah would tend to him - he still interested them after all - and if she didn't, he'd be alright as long as no one injured him further.

-o0o-

Kyoko was bored. Her classes were boring and no one in the class could really challenge her. The others seemed to have upped their training since she first joined, but they still had a ways to go until they could challenge her.

The clan kids at least tended to be interesting or friendly enough to not be intimidated by her too much, so she had gotten to know most of them. Some she got along with better than others, but the group that had first invited her to lunch - Choji, Shikamaru, and Hinata - had become her closest friends.

She'd been trying to bust Shikamaru, and by proximity, Choji, out of of being so lazy. She had been met with limited success. She knew they trained more and paid more attention internally and out of sight, but they kept their laid back disposition. Still, she considered it a success considering how lazy the Nara's notoriously were.

As for Hinata, it was nice having a girl around that was actually decent at fighting, even if said girl didn't admit it. Her stuttering and lack of confidence had been a point to work on over the months, met with even more limited success than Shikamaru and Choji. When Hinata was only around her, she was most confident with the least stutters, and she was better than when they met around Shikamaru and Choji. Unfortunately, in class the stuttering was about the same as when she met Hinata.

Hinata's biggest obstacle was the fact that her family pushed many high expectations on the poor girl and, unlike Kyoko, Hinata was terrible when under pressure. Kyoko understood high expectations, thrived in them really, in addition to understanding why those expectations were pushed on her. The Hyuuga were a highly traditional, strict family. Even going so far as to separate their family into a branch and main house.

The branch served the main with a seal that could be used to inflict great pain and death by the main branch if they wished, in addition to the more practical function of sealing their Doujutsu after death. It wasn't used often from what she knew, but the fact that the threat was there served to breed animosity between the two. And the fact that if Hinata didn't do well, she would be forced in to the branch family was a good reason for such high expectations.

Personally, she thought it was a stupid system. There were ways to run it better, but she couldn't change those things. Not now. So while she may agree that high expectations were good to have, Hinata didn't work well under them. This was in addition to her passive nature and interest in medicine. The Byakugan would help her greatly in that endeavor, but her family tended to be fairly strict in relying almost exclusively on their taijutsu style. There were exceptions, but they were few and all of them were outcasts.

So she was caught in a dilemma of wanting to help her friends, but also graduate from the academy ASAP. Though looking at what her brother had done and the new restrictions it caused, it was looking like she wouldn't be allowed to graduate quite so early regardless. Mental preparation had recently been put on a much higher priority and her having joined late didn't help her case.

Aside from that minor annoyance, her interaction with other kids was somewhat minimal. She barely interacted with the civilian kids barring a few who were dedicated to becoming shinobi, but even they were put off by how intense she was.

Shino Aburame occasionally consulted her for advice which was somewhat flattering, but she was no teacher so her help was limited.

As far as the Yamanaka heiress was concerned, they didn't get along. They were cordial, mostly because of being mutual friends with Choji and Shikamaru, but that was it. Kyoko felt Ino needed to shape up as a Kunoichi and focus less on frivaltries, while Ino thought the exact opposite for her.

Kiba had formed something like rivalry between them, having been motivated to train to beat her. She was fine with that, it would improve the skill of one of her future comrades.

The last person of any interest she interacted with was Sasuke Uchiha. While she had talked to Itachi and become somewhat acquainted with him, her relationship with Sasuke was anything but positive.

Apparently Naruto had left a lasting impression on him. She could see the hate in his eyes whenever Naruto was mentioned and to a lesser extent when he looked at her. She could understand his hate, even if it was unjustified to place it on her. If someone had killed the little family she had left or her few friends, she would hold a grudge as well.

That of course didn't stop her from being annoyed by it. She tried to be nice, but it was grating on her patience when he would blow her off or insult her if he was in a particularly bad mood. So she tried to keep her distance from him when she could.

Other than that, nothing had happened and she was getting antsy. Kaa-chan was training her when they had time together that wasn't spent bonding in other ways, but that was about the only interesting thing. She had found nothing new about Naruto other than confirming he had spent most of his time in the shadier part of Konoha.

It was getting really frustrating and if she didn't do or hear anything new soon she was going to explode! She was practically tearing her hair out already.

Sighing in dismay, she decided to go ask her mother if she could tell her any interesting stories or anything about Naruto.

* * *

 **Hope** you enjoyed. Reviews greatly appreciated. And I welcome anyone who would like to be a beta reader.


	6. Kidnapping Anyone?

**Chapter 6**

" _Adventure into the unknown is both dangerous and exciting. Most fear it, but those who venture into the unknown and return gain knowledge and will be immortalized in the annals of recorded history." - Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

Naruto felt as if he was adrift. Not able to move a muscle and barely aware of his surroundings. It was odd. He couldn't ever remember feeling this helpless.

He tried to move, to open his eyes, to feel _anything_.

None of his senses provided feedback from outside stimuli. The only thing he was aware of was a slow drip of water and a sense of foreboding. Not quite killing intent, just something similar.

He tried to examine it more thoroughly, find out what it was, to no avail.

Then, suddenly, he was gasping for air, his senses coming back to him. Looking around, he noticed he had been stripped of his bloodied clothing and stuck in some sort of liquid filled tube. Holding him up were some sort of black vines.

Oddly enough, he could still breathe fine despite being completely submerged with no pipe to the outside. Looking around, he noticed there were a number of similar tubes in the dim room he was in.

Glancing around provided him with the view of the odd rabbit eared girl he had met only once before. She had mentioned something about being Tartaros' doctor, hadn't she? Perhaps she was healing him. But he'd never read anything about this kind of healing machine. The closest he'd heard about were tubes like these being used by Orochimaru in his experiments.

Of course Orochimaru was also hailed as a genius in innovating many fields of study, even if it was eventually found out it was through unethical experimentation. He personally cared little for that other than the possibility of talent being lost to the man's extreme experiments. Besides, his tubes supposedly let people live and heal better - so he could experiment on them no doubt - so Naruto didn't feel too panicked.

' _Still_ ,' he thought as he tested the strength of the vines, ' _I don't like being restrained like this.'_

He promptly sent chakra through his body, ripped out of the vines, and smashed through the glass. He heard the girl squeak, but paid her little mind. Clenching his fist, he felt something was off. He stomped on the ground and felt it crater slightly. He was stronger than before. Noticeably so, not to mention completely healed.

He turned to the scrambling girl, ignoring her useless drivel. "What did you do?" He asked with the slightest edge. He wasn't quite displeased with the change. That didn't make him any less suspicious. He didn't want any unforeseen negative effects from this treatment. Effects that could've been avoided from merely waiting to heal naturally.

She straightened up, adopting a proud disposition, "I made you better," she said matter of factly. His deadpan stare communicated well enough that that was an unsatisfactory answer. "I made your body stronger," she prattled pointlessly.

" _How_ did you do it is what I meant. Possible side effects and all that included if you please," he interrupted impatiently. He did not like people being near or doing things to his body without full disclosure of what it was.

"W-well," she started timidly, "I wouldn't want to bore you with the details."

Naruto glowered, nearly growling, "I want the details. And don't hold anything back because you think I won't understand it. Don't insult my intelligence," he finished, rather annoyed at what her tone had implied.

She nodded rapidly, "Of course, of course!" she said placatingly, jubilance returning to her voice. Practically bouncing in place, she launched into a detailed explanation of what she had done. Some things went over his head, but he got the gist of it.

Basically she had modified his body in a way that was more closely related to the members of Tartaros, grunts and otherwise. She'd apparently sped up cell regeneration further than his already was to quickly heal him and had barely started with the modifications.

Being partially turned into whatever the members of Tartaros were apparently came with some naturally increased strength. He just hadn't gotten the full package since he had interrupted the process. So now his genes were slightly altered from what his original had been to better accommodate more compact muscles.

All that really meant to him was that the roof he would eventually hit in physical strength had risen a bit higher. Useful to be sure, but he was worried over what inherent weaknesses he may have because of the altered genetics. Different species were rumored to have inherent weaknesses. Similar to how the elements had strengths and weaknesses to each other.

He was not keen on gaining an inherent weakness. While training could be done partially negate inherent weaknesses, he already had his time spread thin. He didn't need to split his attention further.

The girl assured him that wasn't the case for what she had altered in his DNA, so he decided to ignore it for now. If anything seemed particularly painful, he'd investigate further.

Naruto was only displeased that this sudden surge of strength had screwed with his painstakingly achieved fine control of all his movement. Sure he was still fairly graceful and silent compared to most, but by his standards he was positively clumsy.

He ignored it for the moment. He could fix it later. For now, he felt they were moving. "Where are we going?" the boy questioned.

"Hmm," the teen hummed, seemingly thinking, then answered cheerfully, "No idea!" she exclaimed.

Naruto restrained his twitch of irritation. This girl was so erratic. It was quite annoying. Whatever, he'd ask Silver or Seilah when he saw them next.

-o0o-

Naruto didn't get his answer immediately because his body was still quite exhausted. He may have healed, but the fatigue from his battle was still there. There were also some aches that seemed to have developed from his brief DNA modification. He assumed it was from that at least.

So he had gone back to his room after picking up his sword and some clothes. He had promptly passed out once he had sealed his room.

He was a bit peeved he had been so exhausted, but it was what it was. Now he was feeling much better and he could feel they were still flying. Not terribly fast, but he had been out for at least a day, including his recovery time. They could've covered quite a distance. Enough distance that they could be nearly anywhere in the Elemental Nations if they had traveled nonstop.

The fact that he could sense a ground that seemed to constantly sway and no chakra signatures, he safely assumed they were over the ocean. Or at the very least a very large body of water.

While it was possible they were going to the outer reaches of the Elemental Nations, he figured it was more likely they were leaving the continent. He may not know what they were looking for, but he doubted the Nations had much of it. They weren't big on magic users or history with magic and Tartaros seemed to be looking for things along those lines. While some had taken an interest in chakra, it was a passive interest that would be indulged when available and never searched for.

This conclusion got him quite excited. He had seen maps in the Library, but they had been worn and seemed outdated with little detail. Plus, with no reference of position or scale he couldn't get a good idea of what the world at large looked like.

He was looking forward to that. Not many people from the Elemental Nations had traveled outside it. Only the bravest sailors ever attempted it and even fewer returned, most lost to the ferocious seas surrounding the continent.

There were many stories, but with how far he lived from the ocean and human tendencies of exaggerating, he had no idea what could be true.

What kind of technology had been developed by others? What kinds of weapons? What different architecture and culture and language? So many questions, so much to learn and explore!

He couldn't think of a time he had been more excited.

Such was why he was furiously heading for Silver since Seilah was occupied with Kyouka.

He was getting rather irritated with the layout of this guild though. He could appreciate how difficult it would be for invaders to overrun, but it was damn annoying otherwise. Instead of a straight shot with hallways, there were many twists and turns and even random pitfalls he had to avoid. He could easily circumvent it all, yet he would appreciate it if they could put it into a convenient layout and switch to a defensive one when needed.

Surely with all the bullshit he'd seen magic pull off it wouldn't be terribly difficult, would it?

Of course, just because he'd seen magic do bullshit things certainly didn't mean he would stop looking for reason in magic - it had to have a logical base, grounded in reality. Right? Right?! - but he had dubbed much of it bullshit. He could not find much consistency between different types he'd seen.

Some made more sense than others, but not by much.

He finally reached Silver after many twists and humiliating one of the guard patrols for good measure. Their commander needed to keep them on their toes, after all.

Belatedly he realized the beast that had brought him to Tartaros was with the undead man. Oh well. "Silver," he called, getting their attention, "Are we leaving the Elemental Nations? If so, what will the terrain like?" He tacked on the last bit hastily. No need to sound like an impatient or overly enthusiastic child.

Silver grinned almost knowingly - damn him - while Tempester glanced back down to what they were doing. Some game of cards, he realized.

"Well," he said almost mockingly, "We might. We're stopping some place to resupply before then, though," he paused, considering. "After that, not sure and don't care. Besides, aren't you always ready for any situation," he finished, definitely mocking him now.

Naruto didn't let it bother him. He was in too good of a mood. And he was used to Sakumo's incessant shots. "It's better to have advanced intel so you can prepare better for a specific situation. Not that you would know anything about strategy or planning," he shot back.

Silver let out a sharp laugh and patted a spot beside him. "Sit and play. We still have a while to go before we make a stop. I'll deal you in."

Naruto nodded and sat down, noticing Silver was now setting up for a game of poker. The man handed some chips to him and dealt the three of them two cards each. He got an eight of diamonds and a jack of clubs.

He took note of the five of hearts and nine of diamonds played. Then he turned some of his attention away from the game and towards Silver, "So how long was I out?," the youngest of the three questioned.

Silver clicked his tongue as he watched Tempester set down two chips. "I'd say a bit over 30 hours," he answered, "And before you ask, we set out shortly after your fight - decent job with it - and should be there in less than a day."

Naruto nodded, accepting the compliment and mapping out the edges of the Elemental Nations in his mind. He had a few ideas of where they would stop, but without a place of reference for their speed or direction, couldn't exactly guess their destination with much accuracy.

He mentally noted to get a compass when he got a chance. He could navigate by the stars and sun fine, but if he got into a situation he couldn't see them, it would be nice to have a point of reference. He matched Tempester's bet, watching both other players intently for any tells.

Silver kept his cocky grin and Tempester was emotionless as ever.

"The end of your fight," Tempester spoke up unexpectedly, "How did you draw out the power you said was locked away?"

Naruto blinked in surprise at his speaking. Tempester was usually quiet when he had been around. Then the question registered and it made sense. And triggered his own memory. He hadn't had much time to digest the end of the fight and with Tempester asking that, it was obvious what it had been.

He had finally gained access to the Kyuubi.

For a short amount of time and accidentally, yes, but it was progress.

He drove himself back to reality, noticing Silver's and Tempester's stare. He tapped to pass to Silver and answered, "It is possible to access, but for now it seems only possible in extreme circumstances," Tempester nodded his understanding, but seemed dissatisfied so he added, "If pushed into more extreme circumstances like it, it will likely come easier to me. Perhaps even allow me to meet with the beast and make a deal with it to allow me it's power."

Tempester seemed mollified with this information, while Silver seemed the slightest bit unnerved, though he hid it well. Naruto supposed it was only natural after he saw what a full Bijuu could do.

They continued playing in relative silence after that, each had things they wanted to think about. They continued their play for another hour or so before they all tired of it.

Naruto wanted to get something productive done after having been unconscious for so long and was getting bored of the game.

Silver and Tempester were getting kind of pissed at Naruto for winning so many. He may not win every game, but he won the majority.

Though, Naruto admitted internally, that Tempester had a very good poker face. Unluckily for him, in addition to being able to read people exceptionally well, Naruto had very good luck in games of chance.

Perhaps it was Benten(1) watching over him and repaying him in a small way for the shit luck he had in most other facets of life.

Regardless, he put it out of his mind and headed to the training grounds. He needed to regain his fine control.

-o0o-

Danzo was concerned.

He didn't show it of course. Emotions were more often hindrances than boons for a shinobi, and it wouldn't do to set a bad example for his subordinates. Still, he was troubled by their rogue Jinchuuriki situation.

Yes, it was a positive that it drove that powerful, though troublesome, Uzumaki back to Konoha, along with another previously unknown Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. However the cost of that outweighed the gains. The Uchiha, troublesome as they were, tended to be easier to manipulate as a whole than Kushina. Yes, there were some exceptional shinobi in that cursed clan that would oppose his methods, but more would agree or remain neutral.

Kushina, on the other hand, required a delicate touch to steer in the direction of Konoha's good. And from what his men had observed, she would be near impossible to manipulate now. She seemed determined to remain as neutral or passive aggressive as possible when it came to Konoha's well being.

Her skills could be best used elsewhere rather than wasting much of the day at her house.

She was a problem that wouldn't be solved for a long time. Still, Kushina would do no true harm to Konoha. The more distressing matter was their rogue Jinchuuriki.

He had been keeping his eye on the boy. He had shown much promise. Skilled, strong, intelligent, driven. His only glaring fault was not being loyal to Konoha.

He knew he should have tried harder to take the boy or convince Hiruzen to give him to one of his sympathizers. Danzo could appreciate intelligence, but it was not worth losing such a promising weapon as Naruto. Hiruzen had let the child grow too independent.

Though he supposed trying to convince Hiruzen of giving the boy custody to anyone was bound to fail after Orochimaru got his hands on the boy, however briefly. Even if they never found anything the snake had changed of the boy, it gave Hiruzen a scare. Enough that he had isolated Naruto with a caregiver he found trustworthy.

He had agreed because he believed it would forge a sense of debt to Konoha and desire for strength because of the discrimination he'd no doubt face. With some kind deeds of ninja sprinkled in. He was right in that it gave him drive. But it was only for himself, not the Great Tree that was Konoha.

He had been primed to be one of the strongest roots to hold up the Great Tree. Now he was lost. And he didn't seem too keen on being found either.

Both his efforts and Jiraiya's had turned up nothing. He suspected the boy might have had a hand in the Hoshigakure incident, but Jiraiya wasn't sharing anything if he knew more than he did.

If the boy had not only been able to stay hidden for so long, but also presumably move around half the continent, they could not expect to find him. Not soon at any rate. And with the possibility of his allying with magicians, chances of the boy being captured went even lower.

Mages as a whole weren't all that stealthy, but they tended to come in two varieties: weak as a Genin or stronger than the average Jonin.

Considering what they knew of the boy, he would only tolerate the presence of those in the latter category. They couldn't spare many people to send on a wild goose chase after a boy who was prodigally good at covering his tracks.

He would have to pull the few people he had on it out. They had more useful things they could be doing.

While those two Uzumaki were out of his reach for now, the other Uzumaki, Kyoko, was much closer. She seemed loyal, dedicated, and skilled. Not as much as her brother in general, but in Genjutsu, she trumped him without a doubt.

Of course, considering how he had done in the Uchiha with presumably minimal help, his skill level was debatably higher than even his initial guesses.

For now though, the youngest Uzumaki was presumably his best bet. And for that, he now needed a peer she could speak to and get on his side.

Aside from that, perhaps he could prove to Hiruzen that they needed to change the academy to reflect his training a bit more.

"Bring Sai here," he spoke into the darkness, "I have an assignment for him."

There was no acknowledgment, but he felt one of his guards leave him to perform the task.

This would be a long game he was getting into. But he could do that. He had learned early in life that playing the long game was best. Ang he had long since become a master of the game.

-o0o-

When they finally landed, Naruto was quick to leave the guild. A brief exploration of the terrain revealed flora native to the far eastern island of the continent. Considering they had been over land for quite some time before that, he was willing to bet they were in Demon Country.

It's name was quite deceiving in this day. It still reported an above average amount of demon sightings, but they were still very few. Historically, it got its name from some spirit/demon thing called Moryo. It had led a rather formidable artificial army hundreds of years back.

Supposedly he had been fairly close to conquering the the eastern island of the Elemental Nations before he was stopped in what was now Demon Country. Supposedly the Priestess who ruled the country and her line were the descendants of a Great Priestess of that time that sealed Moryo away.

The Priestess' line was rumored to have some kind of special ability in addition to being blessed with an innate divine ability to seal demons. Specifically demons as well, not other beings. An interesting research topic that he doubted he'd get any chance to study in action. There were very few times the Priestess was needed to seal a demon herself. They could often be dispatched by the soldiers they had at command.

Aside from that, he wished they could stay a bit longer than just to resupply. He wanted to study the seal Moryo was still trapped in. For a seal to stand so long against such a powerful enemy was no small feat. He wanted to see the differences between it and the seal keeping the Kyuubi back, if it was indeed real in the first place.

Alas, he had only been allotted ten hours to resupply and get back to the ship. He was far less conspicuous than anyone else in Tartaros and could carry more because of his scrolls.

Having been paying attention to massive gatherings of chakra signatures as they moved, Naruto chose to head Southwest, where he had felt the largest population. He estimated he was roughly 80 miles away from it, so running at a pace that wouldn't exhaust him would take an eight hour round trip.

Great. Only two hours to resupply and briefly look for any gems among the trash. He could use clones to speed the process, but even with them it wouldn't be a thorough search of any place. There would be obvious places to search by sight; however, the smartest stored the best they had out of sight.

When he arrived at the city he had sensed, he realized it was the capital of Demon Country. Lucky indeed.

The capital was very traditional in its design. Many of the same style houses with pointed roofs and similar color scheme. Obvious differences in social class by the buildings and an opulent shrine - the home of the Priestess.

Something to look into if defensive measures were weak.

Other than that, he could hear the loud shouting and haggling iconic of a market place. He headed to scout out the shrine as his clones took to the market with careful instructions to not be accidentally hit and dispelled. That would be a huge tell to anyone.

It was one of the great weaknesses of the Kage Bunshin. They were not very durable. A good thing for scouting so as to lower chance of identification, but rather useless everywhere else. It was a flaw he had yet to fix in a clone jutsu of his own creation.

He couldn't create a completely autonomous clone that was durable, not even considering a memory transfer element. He had been considering using Fuinjutsu to supplement it or to use as a base, but that was finicky and he wasn't confident enough in his skill to venture into such unknown territory.

That was a problem to fix for another time. Now he needed to focus on the security of the shrine. So far the guards he had seen patrolling were sub-par at best.

Still, he knew better than to assume these guards were their best defence. Especially with the reputation the Priestess had for sealing. It may or may not extend to defensive measures, but it never hurt to be cautious.

A quick glance around revealed only simple detection seals, easily bypassed by his own knowledge in the art. Other than that, there were only a few powerful seals that he assumed were to keep demons out. He was unfamiliar with such seals. They seemed to work on some sort of connection to divinity. Though considering the minuscule amount of research he'd been able to do in that department he couldn't tell much more than that.

There was a small part of his mind that nagged at him, saying the modifications to his DNA might set it off. The other, more gung-ho part, said that nothing this country could throw at him could capture and/or kill him. These seals would be a good way to test how far the modifications went, it said. And if they were set off, hey, he could use a good fight.

And he couldn't deny that part of him. It _would_ be a good test and nothing short of Moryo could best him in this country. As far as he knew at least. Perhaps their numbers would get to him. And the Priestess was far too overly specialized towards sealing demons.

He was like a specter as he glided past the patrols, easily slipping through some of the many holes. With practically no effort at all he had entered the shrine.

Putting his sensing abilities to use, he found a few bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, what he presumed to be a shrine room, and something further beneath the shrine. It was highly obscured and very faint, but it pricked at the edge of his mind. He dearly wanted to explore it, but he was both short on time and the passage down to it was both physically blocked and obscured by many seals. And far more generalized seals rather than ones specifically targeting demons.

Very interesting. Perhaps the Priestess was more versed in Fuinjutsu than he had originally presumed.

Regardless, she didn't seem aware of his presence, so he decided to observe her. The woman had a very unique presence and was near a very similar, though far weaker one. Her daughter, most likely.

They were both in the Shrine's designated shrine room. He slipped in unnoticed, sticking to the ceiling. He recognized the shrine as being a tribute to a number of Shinto Gods and Goddesses. Amaterasu, Susano'o, and Izanami being some of them.

He observed the mother and daughter, the Priestess seemingly teaching her daughter something.

The daughter had light blonde hair that came past her neck and was tied into a ponytail with a reddish-pink ribbon. The girl wore a soft yellow kimono that disconnected at her shoulders and side of her stomach to show a pale green undershirt. Her face was carefree and her eyes a light violet.

Her mother, by contrast, had very long, light brown hair. Her skin was very pale, almost to the point of being white, and her eyes were a very light violet.

As he observed them, he saw nothing out of the ordinary for a while. No odd topics of conversation, just a mother teaching her child.

After a few minutes, the mother seized up for a few seconds before relaxing once more. She said a few more words to her daughter before she sent the girl out of the room. It was very odd, that brief contraction. Did she perhaps have some sort of medical problem? Or-

"You can come out now," cut off his thoughts.

Naruto had never been more shocked.

-o0o-

Miroku was content. She and her daughter had been living a good, relatively quiet life. There were few major political matters to take care of and she hadn't needed to fight a demon in quite some time.

Things had been calm. The future she had looked into held little excitement. A bit boring for most, perhaps, but she looked forward to it. Little excitement meant peace and time she could spend with her daughter. Time to be spent teaching her to control the gift the Gods had given them.

She had just finished reiterating why they worshipped the Gods when her body tensed and suddenly she no longer saw her daughter or the shrine room.

Instead she had been drowned in blackness. She could see nothing for a time. Then, in a burst of light, she was nearly blinded.

Clarity came after a few moments and she saw a young man with blonde hair back to back with a twin of himself that seemed to flicker on each side. Though both flickered between light and dark, one was in the light far more often and the other continuously gained more bloody hands.

Then a river of blood formed and a mountain pushed itself out of the ground. The two became one as he climbed the mountain, getting back up whenever he fell. Anything that got in his way was pushed aside. He never stopped, not even when he stopped to protect something.

A goat, a coyote, and a crow were among the ones she saw protected.

Others he slaughtered without remorse. A hawk, a dog, and more.

Some overcame him, pushed him down the mountain, but he always rose back up and pushed past them or found a way around.

These were only a series of brief flashes, gone by in seconds.

She watched him near the top only to be struck down by a bolt of lightning and shadowy figures standing at the top.

He lay on the ground, smoldering with broken bones. She thought him dead.

The next and final flash she got proved her wrong as she watched him start climbing once more. His body broken, his will indomitable as strength still shown on his face.

Then she was back with her daughter, barely withholding a gasp as she watched herself and her daughter from the third person, seeing a shadowy figure on one of the beams.

A final sudden change had her back in her body. She easily held in the gasp from her shocking return. She kept her face serene as she processed what she had seen and made some idle conversation with her daughter.

An unprovoked vision? She hadn't had one of those since she was in her teens. She had mastered her power.

The Gods must have forced it on her. To warn her of the graveness of her situation. She had been too short-sighted, too careless in looking into the future. She merely looked for powerful demons and debilitating political situations. Never had she anticipated something like this, thus she had blinded herself.

She could analyze the rest of the vision's meaning later. For now, it seemed the one from her visions was in this room. She needed to get her daughter out of the potential blast zone. Send her to play in the forest with a guard.

She sent her pride and joy away, never breaking her serene character.

Then she spoke, careful to keep her tone even and strong, "You can come out now."

For a few moments nothing happened. No sound was made.

Then she blinked and he was in front of her. She felt herself shiver at how sudden the transition was. For all her prowess in Fuinjutsu, she wasn't exactly suited to direct combat and if he had the intent to kill her, he could have done so effortlessly.

She took in his form and realized he was but a boy. Likely no older than her Shion. She could only see his eyes through a strip in his mask. His eyes were squinted so no color was discernible. His only other discernible feature was his skin being somewhere between tan and pale.

If this was the same boy as the young man from her vision, and she felt it was, she needed to tread carefully. Even now, as a boy, she could feel he was dangerous.

"Who are you?" she demanded with all the severity being a leader of a country afforded her.

He completely disregarded her question to stare her down. "How did you detect me? Your seals didn't and you don't have the talent."

His tone was annoyed and colored by curiosity. She refused to answer him, countering, "You've no right to question me after breaking into my home," she said sternly.

He glared a bit harder. She remained resolute and after a moment, he let a sliver of a smirk appear. "Very well. I hope you'll answer me after I do you. I've been called many names. Chief among them being monster," he supplied and Miroku tried not to look too perturbed. That didn't much answer her question, but it gave her insight. Perhaps the beginning of her vision showed how this boy was already flickering and turning away from a good path?

Perhaps she had been sent the vision to try to steer him in a more constructive direction. She chose her words carefully, "I see. Skilled you may be, but you're no monster. Perhaps only driven into such a role by circumstances?" she questioned. He didn't react except for a tilt of his head. Nothing to indicate he thought one way or another. "You can become something other than a monster.

He stared at her, as if considering. Then he opened his mouth - and let out a laugh?

He continued to chuckle for some time, regaining his laughter once he saw the confusion on her face. A minute or so later he had exhausted his laughter, "You seem to be under the impression I hate that title. I don't. Was it pushed on me? Yes. But I've long since grown used to it and able to ignore or use it to my advantage," he paused to take in the little shock she let slip. "You speak nice words, but you can't change me so easily, nor so obviously. And don't think you distracted me from my question. I still wish to know how you found me out."

She took his answer in, mind working furiously to figure out what about her sentence he hadn't liked. Was he just so far gone that he didn't care about others opinions? Or was it more that he had been controlled and lied to before, making him far less trusting of others. He even seemed a bit selfish and possibly even narcissistic, more focused on what he thought was good for him. Not caring much for others well being or thoughts. Though he seemed somewhat grounded in reality, so maybe only a minor part.

Still, she had to keep him talking, try to reason with him. "I do not lie or try to manipulate you," she stated softly. "I merely wish for what is best for you and every other person."

He snorted and she saw a touch of fury color his squinted eyes, "You still avoid my one question," then his voice became harsh as he spat, "And you are of a kind I hate most. You whisper sweet words, wishing, seldom doing. Besides, humans inherently hate. It takes shape from many walks of life, emotions, and reason, but they all hate in some way."

He finished bitterly and angry, though it barely colored his tone. It had been almost entirely steady. He truly believed that. And while she agreed it held some truth, such a view was incomplete. Yes many people could hate, but a great majority did not hate much or did not express it. At least nowhere near the degree his words implied.

"I tire of speaking to you, idealist," he interrupted her thoughts, "Perhaps your daughter can answer how you knew I was there," he let her take that in. The threat hung unspoken.

Fear gripped Miroku at that. She couldn't stop him. She hadn't had time to prepare a seal to stop him and she didn't want her Shion to be traumatized or influenced negatively.

Reaching at straws, she remembered some Fuinjutsu master's had the ability to create seals with just their chakra. It was difficult and usually had to have a talent for it and work extremely hard, but she had no choice. She couldn't let him touch her daughter.

She touched her hand to the floor, trying to course chakra into the shape of a containment seal. She saw his eyes open a bit and he rushed her. Her heartbeat picked up and she tried to rush it.

The desperate attempt backfired and burned her hand. She gave a brief cry of pain before it was shut off by the boy covering her mouth and restraining her. Her world went dark soon after.

-o0o-

Naruto looked down at the woman he had knocked unconscious. If what she had tried was any indication, she was perhaps more skilled in Fuinjutsu than he had originally thought. While the woman annoyed him with how she was implying there were merely good and bad paths to walk, she intrigued him.

She may not have spoken of how she knew he was there; however, that she had found out at all, regardless of how, was impressive. Aside from that, her skill in Fuinjutsu could be useful. Perhaps he could convince her to teach him. He was patient and could bargain well. He felt his chances of it were pretty good.

He could see little negative in bringing her along. It might throw the country into a bit of disarray, but that wasn't his problem. To make it even better, there was no way anything would be traced back to him. No one would see her be taken and no one would think to connect it to him.

Decided on his course of action, he restrained the woman and left the city, careful to stick to the shadows. Once outside the walls and a ways into the forest, he focused, feeling for the minuscule attachment he had to his clones to order them finish up soon. It was only a matter of time before the guards noticed their Priestess was missing.

It was ten minutes later his clones returned with scrolls he had handed out. He stored them in his pockets and threw the woman over his back. Running so far with this woman in the same time as he had coming here would've been a bit of strain. Luckily, he had finished early and had a bit over an extra hour to get back.

Unconcerned, he left a country in disarray, scrambling to organize and prepare a girl to take the title of Priestess. Wars with countries looking for more territory were barely avoided, their good reputation keeping a relative amount of peace. Only a few skirmishes broke out.

As the bureaucrats and people of the country breathed a sigh of relief when war was avoided, a little girl cried silently to herself. Questioning where her mother had gone. Wishing to see her again, to feel her warm embrace. To spend time in the Shrine with her despite how boring it could be. To not have so much responsibility thrust upon her.

But she was the Priestess now. She had no one to lean on. She had to be strong for her country.

-o0o-

Mard Geer stared down at him, almost glaring. He spoke in his infuriatingly arrogant way, "Mard Geer demands to know why you brought a human back."

Naruto stared down the incensed demon unflinchingly. "She is of use to me," he answered matter of factly.

He had brought back the Priestess and set her in his room. All security he had put in place raised, just in case. No one had seen her dropped off, but a number of the Demon Gates could sense it. Which was why he was now in Mard Geer's chamber with any of the Gates present that wished to watch. Kyouka, Seilah, Tempester, and the trigger happy one, Jackal, were present.

His simple answer didn't please the man. Good. Bastard deserved a little frustration.

"Why is the disgusting human useful to you?" He interrogated, almost hissing.

The Uzumaki remained unfazed, "She can teach me things I've yet to learn. The art that allows me to create those scrolls, for example."

Mard Geer was appeased a small amount at the answer, it seemed. He had been rather fascinated by how he could store so much in a mere scroll. Jackal seemed to perk up as well. The blonde man/demon/hybrid animal had caught him using some explosive tags and had taken an interest in them, despite how he insulted the amount of power they held.

Mard Geer tapped his finger on his seat. "Very well. Mard Geer will accept your choice. However…" he paused and suddenly thick, powerful vines with thorns restrained him. He barely held himself back from struggling. "Mard Geer believes you need a lesson. Do not be so quick to defend a human. Let this be the lesson."

With that said, the vines constricted around him further, making his bones creak and some thorns dig deeply into his flesh. Naruto grimaced, barely holding back a cry of pain. He huffed out air aggressively, calming himself. "I shall take note," he managed in a steady voice.

The vines constricted once more before releasing him. He barely kept himself from stumbling to the ground as he stood straight once more, ignoring his wounds for now. "Good, you are dismissed," Mard Geer said, disregarding him.

Naruto managed a nod and started the walk back to his room, refraining from holding his wounds or showing weakness. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kyouka with a rather pleased and sadistic smile on her face. Stupid, cocky, arrogant bitch.

He could hardly keep himself from glaring at her. It would only please her more.

Once back in his quarters he stumbled a bit, treating his wounds as best he could. Once done, he collapsed into a chair, careful not to aggravate his injuries and let out a sigh of relief. That had been painful. Hopefully it would be worth it.

He soon became aware of the eyes on him. Turning his gaze to the Priestess, he scowled at the pitying look she gave him. Ignoring it, he decided to see if it would be difficult to get her to agree. "As you can tell, I've taken you hostage. I've done so because I want you to teach me Fuinjutsu. Will you?"

The woman was silent for a long time. Many emotions and thoughts ran through her eyes. Despair, anger, and thoughtfulness were just a few. After a few minutes of her contemplating, she responded, "If you promise to release me and get me passage back to my country once I can teach you no more, then yes. I will teach you," Naruto couldn't quite suppress all his surprise at her agreement. The small smile and giggle from the woman told him that much.

Perhaps she thought she could change him? An interesting notion. He knew that despite how he tried, he would be influenced to some amount. Sakumo had done it - instilling some morals in him and some other minor things that he could ignore more easily, like a minor notion of honor. Itachi had done it by instilling in him a want for comrades beyond the use of tools.

He wondered what she would try. He also wondered why she would so easily agree and want to change him. He had taken her away from her daughter and country. Was she not worried? She wouldn't see this as more important than those, would she?

Perhaps she saw it as the most likely and quickest way to get home. The most logical route with the least struggle. It was a route he may very well choose in her situation. It was even similar to what he was doing now with Tartaros in some ways.

Deciding it didn't matter for now, he took it at face value. He'd take clues from her actions and answers to discrete questions to derive the answer over her time teaching him. "Are you hungry or thirsty?" He asked as he motioned to a stockpile of preserved food he had in a seal powered fridge. A seal filled with cold water was beside it.

The woman nodded and sat properly, despite her restraints, "If you would."

Getting up, he had to refrain from wincing. Grabbing a quick sandwich and cup of water, he idly threw a kunai to cut her bonds. Credit where it was due, the woman barely flinched. As she rubbed her wrists, he set the meal in front of her, grabbing some for himself.

The way she ate was methodical, practiced, polite. Exactly what he expected. He had never cared much for manners despite learning more than most. He felt their only use was for manipulating others of the upper class to give a favorable impression.

However, as he watched, he couldn't help but be slightly entranced. Her every movement smooth even after having her arms bound so long. It was nothing compared to Seilah's voice - even the Demon's mere presence eclipsed how captivating the Priestess' practiced motions were.

Dismissing the feeling, he decided to at least humor the woman with some politeness. "Is there something you'd like me to refer to you as?"

She paused midway through lifting her drink. A small, mischievous smile lit her face. "Hmm. How about Obaa-chan?"

Naruto gave her a flat stare. "I will not call you my aunt. Or any other familial title. I've never had any family and I don't plan on having any for at least a decade."

The woman let her face drop a bit in disappointment before cheering back up. "So you plan on having children, hmm? Quite an odd topic for one of your age to think of."

The blonde fired right back, unfazed by the accusation, "I've done and thought of much more frowned upon topics than sex. Such as murder and kidnapping."

The Priestess gasped slightly, covering her mouth in a scandalized manner, "Such a crass mouth a lady such as I must listen to."

Naruto rolled his eyes. She was overreacting. He could see the mirth in her eyes. He did not want to play this game now. They were nearly finished with their meal and he wanted to get started. Idly, he created a clone to go topside to get a feel for the direction they were heading. The questioning look shot his way was ignored.

It was better to have a direction to point if he ever needed to find his way back to the Elemental Nations himself. "Let's start on my lessons. You wouldn't want to stay longer than necessary, would you?"

The Priestess sighed longingly and took a final bite from her meal. "Very well. What do you already know?"

And so his lessons began.

-o0o-

In Konoha, the biggest players had just found out the Priestess of Demon Country had been kidnapped.

Danzo schemed, planning to take as much as he could for Konoha. They didn't have much aside from knowledge on Demons, still, they had the most information on that.

The Sandaime planned to send a bit of aid and people to watch the situation. To prevent war. He looked for the possibility of a future alliance once things settled down.

Jiraiya and Kushina looked to it and felt sympathy. Kushina related it to being forced away from her children for so long. Worse still was that nobody knew who had done it. Many agreed it was a ninja, but none seemed to know who. Nor could they come up with a motive. No ransom had been posted. Uncommon as this occurrence was, what made it more strange was the fact that even the best information specialists couldn't give a short list of viable perpetrators.

Jiraiya could still make one, but it'd be the longest one he had in years - maybe even decades. The abduction had been perfect and probably easy with the security that place had. For a ninja familiar with stealth and how to circumvent some basic seals, it would've been a cake walk.

The rest of the Nations thought much the same. They looked for opportunities to exploit and accrue debt to be repaid later.

* * *

(1) Benten - she's a goddess of luck.

 **Been a while.** Hope you enjoyed. Also, if it wasn't clear already, goodbye any semblance of canon.


	7. New Horizons

**Chapter 7: New Horizons**

"Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things." – Flora Lewis

* * *

Miroku was astonished. And if she was totally honest with herself, jealous.

The boy who had abducted her - Naruto she had learned - was absorbing her lessons on seals like a sponge. He had a strong base already and anything new she introduced, he mastered quickly. He even had the foresight to ask questions about possible applications she had never thought to ask when she was learning. The things he was asking about were things she had learned later through experience and further study. He, on the other hand, seemed to come up with them on the fly. He had several flaws in logic when he explained how he wanted to use something but the foundation of how to actually implement his ideas was there.

And then there were the times when he thought of applications that she had neither encountered nor thought to try. At least not in any serious fashion.

For example, she had taught him a seal that was used for translation when you worked in a key of sorts for the translation. She hadn't used it much, but there was the rare group that popped up who didn't speak the native Elemental tongue. It was usually when interacting with rare groups that had been heavily secluded for decades or centuries, though in more recent years it was becoming more common (though still exceedingly rare) to find people from outside the continent who needed help with translation.

It was a somewhat advanced concept, if rather fixed in design. You had to have a key for it to work, so someone at some point had to have figured out the translation.

The instant she taught him the basics of the technique, he had not only thought of making the seal self correcting, he had theorized ways to actually do it. She had been struggling with that idea for nearly a half a year. She hadn't been able to come up with how to do it - not well at least. He had come as far as she had in her occasional attempts at it over the years in a few days. While he had hit the same wall as she had with so few - zero at the moment - to test it on, it was rather impressive. The Priestess figured if he had a foreign language to test it on he could get something somewhat reliable down within a week.

Another example of his forethought showed itself when she taught him how to transfer some limited patterns from one paper to another to communicate events. Like her, he had asked if it was possible to make it transmit language. She had been told that it was, but it was rather difficult and to transfer in code was far more efficient. She hadn't gotten the meaning behind that for a while. Naruto, devious as he was, understood immediately. He did, however, criticize the simplicity of the code and the fact that it was one use.

She had developed some that were an improvement on it, but nothing permanent. And again, in a few days he had made as much progress as she had. Luckily for her ego, he was still a ways off from permanent long range communication - long range meaning a quarter of the Elemental Nations.

Naruto had been somewhat annoyed at that. In the short time she had known the boy, she had found that he was rather obsessed with information - learning or current events, it didn't matter. Soon after she had told him, the Priestess had heard him muttering theories on how to extend the range or make it instant in some other way.

The way he could learn and adapt concepts was honestly somewhat terrifying. At the rate he was going, he would learn all she had about seals over her life in a year or less. And it was only that long because he took a significant amount of time to do other things. Either training physically or, more frequently, visiting the library to both read and translate some language she couldn't recognize. His thirst to learn was monstrous.

He had even asked to learn more than just sealing methods. She had thought the boy would show interest exclusively in potentially combat related subjects. He had proved her predictions couldn't be further from the truth.

He had caught her praying and asked to learn more of what it entailed. Not mockingly either. He hung on her every word, as if dissecting the meaning behind every word. It was somewhat disconcerting.

He had also asked for her tutoring on politics and economics. She heard him mumble something about idiotic, hypocritical teachers who were too narrow minded. She had refrained from asking, sensing a bit of a sensitive topic.

And no matter what she taught him, he already seemed to have at least a some base of knowledge. It baffled her how a child so young could be so competent in so many subjects _and_ have phenomenal combat capability. It was absurd! Had he done nothing but study his entire life?

It was the only explanation she could come up with. She figured it was something he had taken up to escape his reality. And considering he was a ninja, she felt there was a good chance they had also forced him to become a capable warrior. She had met a number of shinobi in her time and learned as much as anyone outside their villages could.

They could put up a good act but the fact that they trained children so young to be killers was nothing short of savagery. She knew samurai did similar things, taking in young children to train; however, they brought them in older, usually around twelve, to train more in the art of the sword than for the express purpose of killing.

Over the few weeks she had been held captive, she had never left her student's room. He claimed that it would not bode well for either of them if she did. She remembered the injuries he had dressed when she first awoke - those would not have been caused by her soldiers. And considering he hadn't come in so injured again, she assumed she had been the cause. It seemed that he wasn't exactly in complete agreement with whomever his allies were.

Other than that, she had felt them stop a number of times - each time they stayed in place for a few hours at a time. She assumed it was to resupply. Though when they had first landed and then felt a jerk as they started flying, she had been astonished. She knew of nothing that could fly for any extended period in the Elemental Nations, let alone something that was so solid.

Naruto had chuckled at her terrified look. It was one of the only times she had heard him express any form of innocent amusement. He almost always had such a dark laugh and accompanying sense of humor.

She had been glad to hear it. It proved to her that he had more emotional range than she had originally guessed or feared. That he wasn't set on a terrible path yet.

The Priestess had thought much on her vision over the weeks and had concluded only a few things.

First, that his protecting and fighting side by side with an animal wasn't entirely out of necessity. She thought it was more that he had formed something of a bond with them in addition to Naruto viewing them as useful. It gave her hope that he wasn't just driven by power.

The second was the mountain. It represented the heights he strove for. The challenges he would face. And that even if he was knocked down, he continued up with a will all the stronger for it.

She had questioned what heights he strove for and that brought her to the final part she had deciphered. She believed the top of the mountain represented the home of the Gods. There was no higher mountain to climb.

She had been brought to such a conclusion by two factors. The first came to her as she thought of the shadowy figures at the summit. There had been three prominent ones and other indistinguishable figures behind them. But of the three she had glimpsed, they each had unique characteristics.

The one in the middle had been looking away with what seemed like flames at her feet. The figure to her right had their back turned and head tilted to look to the moon. And the final one had his hand stretched upwards towards the stormy skies as a bolt of lightning came to smite an older Naruto.

The figures had to be representative of three of her most prominent Gods and Goddesses.

Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo.

The other thing that brought her to such a conclusion was the fact that there was no ambition greater than to reach for the throne of the God. And Naruto seemed to have the drive to do it. Even if he didn't seem directed towards such a goal at the moment.

As the Head Priestess of Demon Country, she was obligated to direct him away from such a path. It was one of the reasons she had calmed herself. This had to be the path the Gods wanted her to take. She would do so without question.

She did, however, wonder if her counterpart had received a similar warning. When she got back she would send a message, just to make sure.

Turning to the door as it was opened, she smiled demurely and greeted Naruto. He reciprocated with a nod. "We've arrived at our destination. We'll be here for more than a few hours. I'll see if I can get you outside at some point. It isn't healthy to stay in here for so long."

Miroku let her lips curl a little more. "How thoughtful," she said sincerely, "But who is it that wants to keep me in his room all the time?" the seer shot back teasingly.

The boy brushed it off, "It is for your own safety and well being. I'd rather my teacher not be injured. Now if you would start our lesson," he trailed off expectantly.

Miroku obliged, starting with Fuinjutsu - his favorite subject.

-o0o-

Naruto had been content with what Miroku could provide in terms of teaching. He had originally taken her for her knowledge on Fuinjutsu and to find out how she had detected him - something he had yet to figure out. But she had much more to offer than just some instruction in Fuinjutsu.

He hadn't been thinking about it when he took her, but as someone who was raised to lead a country, she would have to study many things. The subtle differences between cultures of the Elemental Nations, learning the nuances of politics, and her knowledge of Shinto legends.

All of these topics were places Sakumo had been sorely lacking in. Aside from having little knowledge of religion in general, he was disconnected from politics - having faked his suicide and all. He may have been a big player back in the day, but, like most powerful shinobi, he held a certain disdain for politics. He had dabbled in them; however, the man was rather rusty and shinobi politics were different than regular politics.

They tended to hold more overt threats rather than the subtle ones the courts of the Daimyo favored. Plus, shinobi, while able to control their emotions well when needed, tended to get worked up in politics. The Raikage, for instance, was infamous for having a temper when politics were involved.

While Naruto supposed using threats as leverage for political situations would work reasonably well in most situations for the short term, in the long run it would be better to be more well mannered when he eventually interacted with some type of government. Besides, by learning typical political talk, he could craft the impression others had of him far more easily.

Having just finished his lesson on Fuinjutsu, he was leaving. Mard Geer had told him to get a lay of the land so to speak once they landed. You could only get so much from a bird's eye view after all.

Spawning half a dozen clones as he exited the building, he took off towards the closest - and only - village within a reasonable distance - to the West.

The place they had landed was very mountainous. It had the most mountains he had ever seen by far. Granted, he hadn't exactly traveled through the most mountainous parts of the Elemental Nations but it was still impressive.

The guild had landed in between two mountain ranges, and the village he sensed was located on or between mountains. An interesting prospect. The people in Earth, Lightning, and Iron Country were the ones he knew had a somewhat significant population of similar location.

As he crested a mountain, he laid his eyes on the village resting between numerous high peaks. It seemed to be relatively prosperous and was about the size of Tanzaku Gai. Though it seemed this place was invested in far more legitimate business than the gambling dens, creature comforts, and pleasures Tanzaku Gai was known for.

Oddly enough, its architecture resembled the more traditional style Daimyo's preferred. The colors were also very uniform. They were mostly dull shades of green and brown with white screened windows.

To the town's far side was a river. It was fed by two smaller, converging rivers from the mountains farther up. And in between those rivers was a rather opulent, gated home. That had to be the residence of the most wealthy people in town. Surely no government would make such an outstanding target so far away from the main area of the town. Surely even those supremely confident wouldn't do so in such a small town even if they were overconfident in their security.

He marked it as a place of interest to visit later. Those who were rich were sure to have something useful. Turning to the town, he decided it was time to see what was up in this new nation. Maybe get a map and some new clothes to blend in.

-o0o-

Naruto was quick to realize he would stick out like a sore thumb unless he went out of his way to avoid people while still trying to eavesdrop on them. A language he could barely understand the most basic of words. He hadn't felt this out of his depth in a long time. It was very uncomfortable.

The fact that the people of this country would not speak his language should've been obvious, but he had been so excited to come here that he had overlooked something so fundamental as to inevitably be different - like language. In the Elemental Nations it was so universal barely anyone encountered any other language without going out of their way to do so.

He had done that. He had looked into the most common languages recorded to be spoken by foreigners before he left Konoha and he had his project with that mystery language and Elvish he had found on his first mission. So he was rather familiar with different languages.

Yes, he could recognize numerous languages, but his understanding of them was subpar at best. He'd stick out as a foreigner like a sore thumb. And if this place was anything like the Nations, he'd be watched like a hawk and hounded with questions. The exact opposite of what he wanted.

The only positives were the fact that he could work on improving that translation seal Miroku had taught him - and he actually recognized the language. It was English. One of the languages he was more familiar with.

He had managed to pilfer a map and some clothes so he could walk in the daylight if needed, but he was stuck at the moment. He couldn't get any information.

He was currently working out a key for English translation both ways. He felt it was the most productive thing he could do at the moment. He had worked out how to make the scroll learn to correct itself, but it required another who knew the language to write the correct translation.

He wanted to get to a point where he could be near conversation and the seal would correct itself. A lofty goal. Something he had always been fond of reaching.

Then a solution hit him. It wasn't a fantastic solution and would still draw quite a bit of attention if he didn't handle it right, but it's payout would be worth it.

Instead of speaking, he could act deaf and somewhat uneducated. If he used his scroll to communicate with someone, the scroll could advance itself. And maybe he could find a way to link it to his brain. Or at least speed his learning of the language. It was rather tedious trying to learn a language.

Still, acting mute would make him stand out too much for his taste. Of course if he went through with this, he'd have to dull his hearing considerably and be careful not to react to noise. Something surprisingly difficult to do convincingly. Though perhaps his views were skewed since the few times Sakumo had him practice it, he had only been convincing for ten minutes at best. That bastard was far more observant than average even for a shinobi.

After he finished completing version one of his self learning English scroll, he looked for a certain type of person in a tea shop or relatively secluded place. Somewhere a child wouldn't look out of place and a person who had a quiet and pitying or kind demeanor. Reading things like that weren't the easiest when there was no conversation, but the quiet ones tended to secluded themselves.

Those who were quiet and looked around them with eyes softening on children tended to be a good indicator. Or, more uncommonly, that of a pedophile.

Eh, he could handle himself if it came down to that.

After half an hour, he found a good target. The woman seemed to be rather typical of this land - somewhat long brown hair and eyes and wearing green clothing similar to a long sleeved shirt and pants, accentuated with a dull yellow-brown.

As he walked up to her, he held his head low, acting the shy, embarrassed child. He sat in the chair opposite her and he watched as she turned, surprised. She opened her mouth, but with his hearing dulled as it was, he couldn't make anything out. He assumed a greeting and question of what he was doing.

He put his scroll on the table, applying a quick Genjutsu to himself to appear he was writing her language. After all, he wasn't proficient enough in English to smoothly write yet. _I can't hear, write on this, please. No scene, please. Want help learning good speak. Correct, please._ he wrote.

He saw pity and sympathy appear in the woman's eyes as she silently nodded. Taking the scroll, she wrote yes and a correction of the grammar. He nodded thankfully and continued on that vein with the woman.

He spent hours with her, trying to integrate new words and better grammar into the seal matrix and his memory. The memory part didn't work so well, but the seal matrix performed well. Better than he had anticipated. It was nowhere near perfect and it still had a limited vocabulary, but it was better.

He wrote a thank you on the scroll and started to roll up the significant portion they had used to stow it in his pocket. The woman stopped him, writing a few last things.

 _I am Delilah. What is your name? Do you want to meet here again to continue lessons?_

Naruto was only slightly surprised at that. This woman was more kind than he had anticipated. While he would like to do that - he just didn't know if Mard Geer would keep in the exact same spot for long or even allow him out. He may have a longer leash than when he first joined, but the man was holding it tight since he had brought Miroku back.

Deciding that it wouldn't hurt to say yes, he nodded and wrote a fake name, Yuurei.

With that, he smiled at the woman and left. It was getting dark and Mard Geer would expect him back soon.

-o0o-

As it turned out, Mard Geer had known the people here would speak a different language. It was a test to see how he adapted to getting information without a common language.

The Demon had been rather surprised by how much of a translation he had been able to obtain. While the information he gathered was minimal - he had really only learned the town's name was Gaoling and obtained a rough map of the country they were in - it was at least worthwhile to stay if he could attempt experiments with a language translation seal. Or so Mard Geer said. Naruto figured it merely amused him with the bit of floundering he did in such a disadvantageous situation. He had been informed to go back over the next few weeks they stayed here.

Naruto's chagrin over the smug bastard's attitude was overshadowed by his joy at having the time he needed to improve his seal. He worked all through the night on a seal that would adapt to audible conversation. It was awkward and most likely highly inefficient, but it was a start.

Over the next few weeks he studied English tirelessly and made constant tweaks on his self learning seals. He got occasional input from Miroku and added any English words he hadn't had a translation for yet.

One of the kinks he had to work out in his listening seal was a way to get rid of background noise. Garbled noise was of no use in translating.

The fix to that had been to add a part that would isolate the frequency a person talked at and only focus on that.

However, that had caused more problems than it had fixed. While it could lock on to one person's voice now, it would occasionally switch prematurely. Plus it didn't account for the changes in tone a single person had. So while it may lock on to a voice, if the tone changed too much, it was blocked.

That also made it so the seal could only work with one voice at a time. That was inefficient and if it locked onto a child or someone with too heavy an accent, false information could be picked up. While it would eventually correct itself, he would prefer it take as little time as possible.

The solution to the second problem came easily, if in a somewhat inefficient application. Adding more inputs. It put a strain on the processing of the original seal, so he had to add more into it, but overall it worked well as a solution.

The first, though was a bit more difficult. He couldn't get the seal to recognize just a single voice based on what a person could hear and distinguish. It wasn't sentient. There were ways to go about it, he was sure, but he didn't know how.

His answer eventually came not from looking at sound wavelengths or frequencies, but by adding a directional component. When the seal picked up a voice, it would track the direction it was in and lock on to that general direction. If it picked up anything else other than at that point, it would be ignored.

This, of course, was a bit finicky. If he was walking it was obviously not terribly effective. Setting it somewhere that a lot of conversation happened and not a lot of movement was ideal.

Having advanced the translation to the point he could no longer improve at his current level, he turned to other problems or uses it had.

One he saw was the limited amount of paper he could use. In this instance, it wasn't a great problem since he had access to paper. Plus, it would soon become relatively obsolete from learning the language, but in other similar instances with less resources, something renewable would be nice.

The solution he came up with was a different application of a sealing scroll. By adding parts of that sealing matrix in and making it highly selective, he could have the seal 'absorb' the ink after a few seconds. Then he could reuse the paper if not the dried up ink.

The obvious use for it was as a listening device to gather information. Especially at places where he wasn't able to be or wanted to be sure there was no link to him and even smaller chance for it to be noticed. An addition to it that would be nice is if he carried a master scroll that was linked to his listening scrolls to receive information they had using an application of one of the other seals the Priestess had taught him.

He quickly came to realize this was not as easy a goal as it sounded. While he could get the scroll to listen and record things, the majority of it would be time wasted looking through. Too much idle conversation. While he could add keywords to search and send, that limited his scope of what to look for to topics he had at least heard of.

Plus sending the information would take a while and the code it was transmitted in was not efficient for lengthy messages.

In addition to all that, the information he did deem useful would suffer from all information gained from a source inexperienced at observing. Much of it could be rumor, and with no way to listen to the tone, watch body language, or the type of person who said it, the information he did gain would be unreliable at best.

This would be a project he would have to unfortunately postpone. The only thing he could really work on with it would be devising an efficient code the seal could transmit.

It was unfortunate but definitely an invaluable tool if he could work out the kinks.

It had been a month since he started on his crusade of language while Mard Geer was having his other servants do his work. He had learned enough English to be passable in conversation, if a little off on grammar and more complex words. He had even managed to copy the dialect they spoke here for the most part. There was definitely a noticeable difference, but it was believable enough that he was a refugee from another place in the kingdom, as seemed to be more common than anticipated.

It was a sign of the war that was going on before he had figured out enough of the language to hear about it. Apparently it had been going on for nearly 100 years. That was a _long_ war. He figured that this Earth Kingdom - where he was now - and Fire Nation were very push and pull in this war. Likely evenly matched with a number of years of relative peace to recoup the population.

Another thing he had learned was that what they used here to get 'Bending' done was called Chi. It was similar to chakra, but far more fluid. There was no need for hand seals, though it did seem to require some forms modeled after martial arts. It was apparently different for each of the four possible elements, Earth being modeled after Kung Fu. The Hung Gar style if he wasn't mistaken.

The drawback he had seen so far was that power didn't come quite so easily. While he hadn't seen what he felt were top tier benders, it seemed to him that their power tended towards capping out lower in addition to having to specialize in a single element. This made them focus more on technique, which he appreciated, but even of the best he had seen, a typical Jonin could likely take three at the same time.

With a little deception, of course. These benders looked to be very straightforward fighters. They were more similar to samurai in the fact that they looked at deception with disdain. At least from the little exposure he had seen.

Though he had to hand it to the Fire Nation. Comparatively to the Earth Kingdom, it was tiny. It was admirable that a country he assumed to have a much smaller population could do so well. Especially as the aggressors who had to wait for their boats to get troops onto the war front.

It was a war he was tempted to try to join. Unfortunately, he didn't think Mard Geer would much appreciate that. The killing humans, yes. The stalling his plans - some that seemed to be coming to a head relatively soon with the increased excitement in the grunts - not so much.

And considering they were likely to leave soon, he had taken the time to sneak into the rich family's home. He had only heard a few things about them. They were apparently very rich and the reason behind the flourishing economy in this town. Especially impressive considering most other places were apparently suffering high poverty.

Other than that, they were called the Beifongs and were a couple with no children. That was about all that was known. They seemed to like their privacy.

And since they were wealthy, he figured they likely had some books of interest. And if not, at least some cash. While he cared little for what it could buy usually, it was a useful bargaining tool.

This is why he found himself flitting from shadow to shadow at midnight after scaling their pitiful wall and bypassing bare bones security. It was too easy. He figured that this land wasn't as on guard to infiltration attempts on the level he was capable of. Or at least this town, being so far outside the front lines, was unprepared for it.

Entering the largest building on the premise, he quickly searched the rooms, finding a library. He browsed the room, checking for any interesting titles.

Nothing seemed to be of particular interest. The library was small, the only books of interest being the ones he found on economics and a few more detailed books about the history of bending.

He was about to browse through it when he heard the door quietly open. Quickly abandoning his search, he moved to cling to the shadows of the room. He heard the quiet footsteps and he moved to avoid them.

Then he was astonished as the footsteps changed directions to where he was.

His confidence in his ability to stay hidden was really taking a beating recently. Last time, Miroku had caught him - he still didn't know how - and now what seemed to be a child his age - possibly younger - had sensed him. How did this keep happening! In Konoha, where there were many people trained to detect people hiding, this barely ever happened. Now, random people - civilians even! - could pick him up no problem! It was ridiculous!

Finally deciding to just stay and confront whoever it was, he stood still. What came around the corner took his pride and ground it to dust. It was a little girl, dressed the part of royalty, with seemingly no skill in stealth at all.

Belatedly, he noticed this girl's Chi was far better controlled than anyone else he had met. That made him feel a little better. From the very general sense he had developed for Chi since coming here, he had found that it was generally more control oriented. Benders tended to have similar amounts of Chi, but it was their control that truly set them apart.

This girl seemed above average in every way a bender could. So there was that.

Looking closer as she turned to face him, he noticed her eyes were a bit unfocused. And they were pale - a dull grey really. Was she blind? If so, how was she walking so well?

"W-Who are you," she stuttered shakily. He noticed she shifted her position slightly into what looked like an earth bending stance - one he hadn't seen. "Don't make a move or I'll scream for the guards," she added.

He studied her face in an instant, noticing how her eyes finally seemed to settle directly on his face. Definitely blind then. So she had somehow adapted a different way to navigate. Not unthinkable. He hadn't seen it in this land yet, but he had two different reliable ways to navigate aside from sight. Most shinobi developed at least one somewhat reliable way. Being blind would make developing one a necessity if possible.

The most odd thing, however, was how the girl almost seemed eager - amused too. Especially considering her fearful tone and not immediately calling for the guards. Not something some fearful little girl would do. So she was a thrill seeker of some sort. Probably also confident in her ability to defend herself.

Deciding to humor the girl a little, he answered, "I've no reason to give you my name. If you must, call me Yuurei," he paused for a second before continuing, "And who might you be? How did you sense me?"

The girl shifted from foot to foot slightly as she responded, "I don't know why I would give an intruder my name. And you were just being loud."

Naruto smiled at that, letting out a small chuckle. So she wanted to sass him, fine. "Impossible," the girl looked confused at that. He explained, "I've been around people trained for years to pick up noise and most of them can't hear my approach. Even with your blindness, you couldn't have detected me," the girl's shifting paused a moment. She was feeling a bit nervous now. Good.

"Also," Naruto continued as the girl opened her mouth, "I think I can guess who you are. Dressed as you are and where we are. You're the Beifong's daughter, aren't you?" the slight tensing of her body told him it was true. "Wouldn't it be a shame if their secret got out? So why don't you tell me how you sensed me and I'll answer a question of yours. A fair trade."

The girl's eyes teared up a bit, "Don't be so mean. You're scaring me," she whispered harshly.

Annoyed, Naruto snapped, "Quit the princess act, you certainly aren't some fragile doll."

His sentence seemed to strike her as she tensed slightly. Then she dropped into a far more confident stance - arrogant even. Her voice also took on a much harder tone, nothing like the soft princess act from before. "Alright, you got me. How'd you know?"

Naruto leaned against the wall and waved his finger, "Ah, ah, ah. You answer my question and I'll answer yours."

The girl snorted. "Fine. I can detect your movements with my feet."

The boy raised a brow at that, taking a look to her feet. They were bare of anything and heavily calloused. Still, see with her feet, what did that imply? She was an earth bender, so perhaps she used a similar technique through the Earth as he did with his chakra sonar?

That sounded about right. Seeing impatience in the girl's face, he kept to his part, "I could see in your stance you were a warrior. Your princess act might fool some, but I've been trained in deception my whole life," the girl nodded, so he continued, "You got a name? I'd rather not call you girl or Beifong."

The princess snorted again, "Why don't you tell me your real name than?"

Such an abrasive girl. Unyielding, too. He liked it. She was like him in a way. "Very well. I'm Naruto."

Nodding in acceptance, she stuck her hand out, "Toph."

Naruto chuckled, taking her hand and shaking. A custom of this land he had learned quickly. "This is quite an odd way for an intruder to be greeted," he commented idly.

The newly identified Toph huffed and turned away, "Well you're the first person to not treat me like a glass figurine. I'm not some doll that will shatter with the slightest pressure."

While Naruto didn't know what a figurine was, he could infer it was easy to break. The way this girl talked seemed like she had no friends. He smiled. That could be useful. Gaining an ally like her would be a boon.

He ignored and crushed the slight traces of sympathy he could feel.

"Well, I can agree on that," he said as he started to walk out of the library. Toph followed. "You seem like a very capable bender. The most capable I've seen in this town, even," the girl tried to hide it, but she preened with pride. Deciding to appeal to her sense of pride in her abilities, he added, "I'd like to spend some more time talking to you. I'm most likely leaving this town soon, but I hear there's an earth bender tournament called Earth Rumble. You should participate."

Toph stopped walking for the briefest of moments in shock. Then she sped her pace a bit. "So you'll be there too? You'll fight?"

The blonde chuckled as they reached the wall. "Oh, I'm very combat capable, but I'm no Earth Bender. Perhaps we can fight after the tournament. If you wish to."

With his final word said, he seemingly glided up and over the wall of the compound.

-o0o-

Naruto twitched as he caught a rock the size of his head speeding his way. The cheering that followed didn't help at all.

It seemed that these earth benders and fans of them were as hard headed as their element. He enjoyed a fight as much as the next guy - more so usually - but this mindless cheering for such little skill was grating on him. Of the four men he'd seen fight, he knew he could take them all - at the same time. Probably without resorting to any jutsu. They had some tricks, yes, but they were all one trick ponies. Completely specialized in a single attack pattern.

He understood these people were underground fighters. That they weren't the cream of the crop, especially among this country's military elite. Still, he found himself disappointed. There was the stupid, big one, the tricky, flexible one. It was stereotypical of certain fighting styles. They all seemed to have basic training, but branched off into what they thought sounded cool.

It disgusted him on a fundamental level how these people could cheer for such garbage. Hopefully Toph wouldn't be a disappointment.

He watched the next two fights, similarly disappointed. Then the announcer - a man with long, straight black hair - waved a small bag of coins around, asking for any challengers of the current champion. No one came for a few moments.

Then a small body came flying down and kicked up some dust. The overconfident, condescending voice that came from them confirmed it was Toph, "I'll fight you."

There was silence as the crowd took her in. Then they laughed. Naruto smirked and turned to a man taking bets. Tapping his shoulder, he bet all the money he'd stolen since coming here on Toph. The guy's eyes widened and asked if he was sure.

Naruto turned back to the fight, without answering. He saw the announcer go to Toph, asking if she was sure and what she was called, most likely. Turning back to the crowd, the announcer raised his hand, quieting the crowd. "The challenger, the Blind Bandit, shall fight for the championship!"

The man turned and augmented his jump to an outcrop overlooking the arena with earth bending. The man shouted begin and the champion wasted no time in getting started.

A few slabs of rock were bent up and flung. Toph slipped around them effortlessly and sent back her own barrage of smaller rocks. Her opponent took to smashing them away, being overly showy in his defense.

Toph took advantage of this, and with a smirk, bent the Earth underneath the guy right between his legs hard enough to drive him off the platform.

The audience collectively cringed. Naruto joined Toph in her smirk. It was always so fun to put showboats in their place.

After that, the announcer came down to give Toph the belt and the small bag of coins. She waved them around, acting somewhat snobbishly. Naruto ignored it as he collected his money from the gobsmacked bet taker and started walking off. He was sure Toph would find him soon after all the excitement of the tournament wore down.

He exited the hidden underground arena and moved towards the sparse forest on the edges of town. It was barely half an hour before Toph showed up with the over sized belt on and a wide grin. "So what'd ya think?" She questioned haughtily.

The boy shook his head in a bit of exasperation, "You're alright. Better than most chumps around here at least. And you don't hesitate to fight a little dirty," Toph preened under the praise. He quickly deflated it, "Of course that's not saying much."

The girl stomped her feet angrily and pointed a finger at him, "You wanna go, then? I'll put you on your ass!"

Naruto smirked at that. "If you insist." And before Toph could register that they were starting, he was upon her, striking her stomach. Spittle flew from her mouth, but she recovered admirably, flicking earth at him as she retreated.

He dodged, catching the last stone and flinging it back with twice the force. Toph let out a small yelp and ducked.

He decided to take it up a notch and started throwing some shuriken at her as he closed in. She put up a wall that he scaled in an instant, picking up some shuriken in the wall as he avoided the slowly forming spikes.

Spinning, he brought a kick down on Toph that she blocked with both arms. Naruto let the force out of his kick and spun the opposite direction to let out his hail of shuriken. Toph showed she had excellent reflexes as she bent out of the way, only getting nicked by a few. But by that time he had slipped into her guard and put a hand to her neck.

He had won.

They stayed like that for a dozen seconds or so before he backed off. The blonde offered a hand that she took. "You are good. Just not used to fighting someone like me."

Toph looked downtrodden regardless. Deciding to use this to get on her good side, he placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Look. You really are good. You're just inexperienced. Especially against non earth benders. I can teach you some things to minimize your flaws if you want."

Toph still looked a little down, but he saw a tiny nod. She mumbled something he couldn't quite make out. He asked her to repeat and she let out a soft question, "How did you do that? You're not a bender."

He laughed. She looked startled. "Now Toph," he said as his chuckles died down, "You shouldn't underestimate non benders. I'm sure there aren't many around the Earth Kingdom or any of the other three nations, but there are certainly some who could compete with many benders. Besides," he said and turned, deciding to let out a small hint, "The world is bigger than just these four nations."

He could almost feel her eyes widen from the implications of his statement. He didn't let her dwell on it for long as he launched into a lecture of things she could improve.

He wouldn't admit it, but talking like this with a kid his age was nice. It was something he had never quite experienced before.

-o0o-

Temari no Sabaku was not one to get unnerved easily. She had been raised since the day she was born as a Kunoichi. Her father was strict and had high expectations, but that was only to be expected considering her father was the Kazekage.

She'd had many tutors over the years and had hardened herself to many of the horrors shinobi were expected to face and commit. Few things had truly caused her to be afraid in her short life.

One of the things she feared was her brother. She had tried to show him love but the village's animosity towards him combined with the _thing_ inside him had driven her little brother insane. She still loved him, tried to get to him in subtle ways. That had never worked though. If it didn't end in silence, it ended in threats to do her bodily harm.

At least she wasn't turned to paste just trying to get near him. If anyone other than her or Kankuro did anything to try to seem endearing, they'd likely end up a bloody smear on the ground.

Of course that was how it used to be. In the past few months Gaara had _changed._ Drastically.

He still threatened people a lot, but he was noticeably more amiable. More thoughtful. And he didn't leave nearly as many bodies in his wake as he used to. In fact, it was barely into double digits after all these months!

He had even started socializing with them of his own free will! Just a tiny bit, granted, but progress was progress. Still, she couldn't get this fear out of the back of her mind. What had happened to change Gaara so much? Was it all an act?

With as long as Gaara had been hostile, Temari couldn't help but be suspicious. Thankful, but suspicious all the same.

She had retraced the days in her head a thousand times, trying to pinpoint when and what had changed Gaara so much.

She had gotten the when down. After the Ichibi had been released those months ago. Gaara had been quiet after that for a few days, as he always was, but more introspective than dwelling in anger.

After that he had extended very tentative branches of something - not quite friendship - to her and Kankuro. He still threatened them occasionally. But it was only occasionally as opposed to the threats he used to give out nearly every day.

He had even asked for advice in advancing himself! Actually taking their opinion and advice into account!

She was overjoyed and wanted to thank whoever or whatever had inspired this change. She was suspicious about it, though. She had probed Gaara about it a few times and he had either dismissed her or given incredibly vague answers.

She only knew that whatever he had encountered that triggered the Ichibi transformation was responsible. She didn't know through what means it had been triggered or if the person who did it was keen on doing it again. And that was what truly scared her.

Before she had feared Gaara, but then he was mostly predictable. Now he wasn't. He was still exceedingly violent for someone his age - even a shinobi - but now most of that violence was contained to training.

What was new, was his more quiet and calm disposition. Not the beast waiting to be given a reason to strike. That demeanor was also unstable. She no longer knew with certainty when he would act with hostility.

But she would learn. Adapt. Like she always had.

* * *

 **So** it's been a while since I updated. Far longer than I intended. Kinda lost the drive to write and I got a very taxing job over the summer. Hopefully somewhat more regular updates will happen. Also I think some of my burnout was because I was trying to force myself to stick with this idea so much when I just have so many ideas. Plus I plan for this to be a truly massive fic so it is a bit intimidating. In short, I'm probably gonna write another fic alongside this one to give myself some variety.

Review please. It really does help. I didn't understand how much until I actually started writing. Thanks.


	8. Treason Take Two

**Chapter 8: Treason Take Two**

"It is strange how people can come to care for each other in such a short period of time. I've spent so long treating everyone around me as a tool or a threat. That someone could make me nearly discard that mind set, even if temporarily, amazed me." _\- Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

Months passed and they moved on. Naruto had felt some semblance of longing to spend time with Toph occasionally but nothing he couldn't ignore.

In the few short days he spent with her before leaving, the boy could admit he had grown fond of the Beifong. Her hardy nature and refusal to except any 'disabilities' she had reminded him of himself. He also found some measure of amusement in teasing her about the frail princess-like status and disposition she was forced to adopt. Toph, naturally, didn't take kindly to this and often started chucking rocks at him - not able to contend with him in a verbal spar both from inexperience and lack of knowledge about him.

Overall, he found her interesting and someone who could easily grow into a very powerful ally. Despite his mild distaste of her constant crass attitude, it could be endearing.

Unfortunately it was not to be. Mard Geer had decided that they had spent enough time here and needed to move on to their next target. He had a shadow clone sneak off to say goodbye to Toph, having grown fond enough to offer that courtesy.

The girl hadn't taken it well, throwing a bit of a fit and asking to come with him. He had to turn her down. Not only had they already left, but Mard Geer had still been a bit cross with him over bringing Miroku aboard. He couldn't risk himself anymore. Or what the guild leader would potentially do to Toph.

After their departure they had stopped a number of times, but never for more than a month. He had been sent on recon missions again and the occasional search and retrieval of some item.

And with his departure from the Earth Kingdom, he could no longer advance his proficiency in English. The only way he could improve at all is if he attended some high class events where people would be more elegant in their words. That or flat out reading a dictionary, something he found only a mild use in. Dictionaries gave definitions by what a word meant at some point in time. Words were often not up to date or defined in a way that the average person would use it, if at all.

He hadn't really met anyone of note since Toph. He had spied on a few people of note, but not met anyone. The king of Omashu came to mind. An eccentric old man named Bumi. He had caught only glimpses of the man - spying on him presented too much of a risk. Despite his odd mannerisms, the man was very aware of his surroundings.

He hadn't been caught, of course, but his presence might have been suspected, if not outright detected. King Bumi was a man worthy of his respect. Especially considering he was the greatest earth bender he had seen thus far. By a lot. The only one who came close was Toph. But he was certain she would surpass the man in time. She was mostly lacking in experience after all.

They had just arrived near a port after crossing a fairly large stretch of ocean going out of the Four Great Nations - or three as he had learned - continental area. As per usual, it was his job to do reconnaissance. He ran into a problem very quickly.

This nation mostly spoke a new language. There were smatterings of English being spoken, but only by a select few seemingly dealing with outside merchants. Luckily, he had some knowledge of this language. Its name escaped him - Arabic? Egyptian? - but he did remember some basic things. Hopefully the improvements on his self learning scroll could fill in a lot of blanks.

With that idea in mind, he headed to what looked like a tavern and used one of the few words he knew. Water. It got him a look from the waiter, but no comment as he was given what was asked. Being able to hear the same conversations with no breaks - distance snapped connections - let his scroll learn faster.

He stayed in the tavern for two hours, shuffling cards and occasionally getting another drink to keep himself occupied. It also served the purpose of keeping people from paying him too much attention.

Eventually, as was bound to happen by shuffling cards, he was approached. Two men came, one subservient to the other by staying a step behind the first.

The first started speaking quickly - far too fast for his inexperience in this language to really understand. He caught only a few words, though he figured the man was asking to play a game. He gave what he remembered was an apology and informed him that he didn't speak the language. The man didn't look too caught off guard. He spoke to his aide and then sat down in front of him.

He motioned for the cards and he obliged. The man started shuffling them with a contemplative look about him.

Naruto's mind and eyes were on the man's ears, specifically the earrings he wore. This land was odd in the fact that men wore earrings. Back in the Elemental Nations, few wore them and he had never heard of men wearing them. What he did know, however, was that those that did tended to be high up the social ladder.

That pattern seemed to hold true here. From the few he had observed, those who had more extravagant earrings seemed to match with more expensive clothes.

This man had the most extravagant he had seen thus far. While a good thing to know, that was not what his mind was on. It was traveling to practical uses such an earring could have for him. Learning a language took time. A lot of it. While it sparked his interest, he would rather it not take so much time away from other projects.

He already had a seal to learn and translate a language. What if he found a way to have that information told to him? Have a seal next to his ear that expressed verbally - and near silently - what a person he was in conversation with was saying? Even further, a seal in his mouth that could take what he said and translate it to the appropriate language?

An extraordinary idea and a difficult one to accomplish. He loved a challenge, of course, but that kind of project was not a viable option at the moment. Plus an earring would be an obvious weak point to take advantage of. He was not confident he could keep away from nearly all opponents he would face to wear it all the time.

An idea to put aside for another time as the man in front of him started talking. In English. "Do you understand this?" he asked. It was heavily accented, obviously not his native language and one he was rusty on. Still, it was understandable, even if barely.

Naruto smiled at the man, expressing some false sense of gratitude, "Yes. Thank you. I've only just arrived and am not familiar with the local language."

He only gave a vibrant smile, "I would expect that from one so young," he said. His English, as expected, was shaky and lacking. Still, it was passable.

The man extended the cards in two equal piles. Naruto took one after a moment, seeing it as an offer. "You know how to play Spit?"

Naruto shook his head. The man nodded, as if expecting it, and explained the rules briefly. "You set up your cards like this," he explained and motioned to how he had split his deck. There were five piles in front of him, starting with the top card face-up and each stack increasing by one card. He then set the excess to his right in between them. Naruto quickly dealt out the same hand.

The man continued, "We both flip top card here over," he said, motioning to the excess pile, "Then we try to get rid of cards fast as," he paused, searching for a word, then settled with a sheepish smile and said, "fast."

Naruto nodded his understanding of the objective. The man accepted his answer and concluded his explanation, "You can play card one above or below current one on both decks. Then slap hand on one you - small one."

The blonde nodded his understanding. The objective obviously to get rid of all your cards. Simple enough. It even played to his strength of having fast reflexes. He'd tone it down of course. He had yet to encounter a place that had the average reflex time of a ninja. And his was considerably better than average.

The man put down a bit of money. An amount he had figured out would pay for a small bundle of fruit. Plenty to pay for the water he had been drinking. He looked to the man, about to say he had no currency of that kind, but he anticipated that, waving him off, "Do not worry. Some incentive to play your best."

Naruto shrugged, not about to decline if that's what the man wanted to put out.

So they started to play and after three games and Naruto winning the same amount of money from each round, the man held up his hand. "I have seen enough. You have fast reflexes, my young friend," he smiled and after another moment's thought said, "I would like to offer job. Interested?"

Naruto blinked in surprise. That wasn't what he had expected. He motioned the man to continue. He wished to know more even if he knew he would reject it.

"As bodyguard. Would have your reflexes honed into combat. Would likely not see combat until older though. Fifteen or sixteen, yes."

Naruto considered, thinking it odd to use a game of cards to determine such a thing. Still, he had heard of more idiotic ways to determine such a thing. This held _some_ logic at least.

Still, Tartaros had better things to offer and he was not yet prepared to run from them. So he shook his head, "Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. I'm content where I am."

The man frowned, disappointed. Nevertheless, he gave a nod of acceptance. "If you ever change your mind, look for Rashid Saluja. Offer will always be open."

With that, he and his aid were off. Naruto decided to keep the name in mind. That man had a rather powerful aura about him. The aura of a leader more than a general though.

Regardless, he had other things to do. Namely, his idea about improving his translation seals.

He had read the people's body language enough to extrapolate enough information to satisfy Mard Geer.

Before that, he decided to drop by the port once more, just to see if anything interesting had arrived.

As it turned out, there had. Not in the form of cargo, but a boy a few years older than himself. His defining features were long purple hair in a ponytail and a sword in an elegant sheath.

Interestingly enough, he was the most combat savvy he had seen in his brief time here. No guard or soldier matched up to him.

Though perhaps combat savvy wasn't quite the right word. He didn't seem to have much discipline or formal training, though he was in phenomenal physical condition. Plus he had fantastic instincts and an unconventional head for tactics.

The boy didn't touch the ground after he jumped into the fight. He just kicked off of his opponent's faces. He only landed on a cart once and throughout the fight he never even drew a weapon. He always went for weak spots in the face and he even managed to kick a sword out of midair to pierce the wood in front of the leader of the unruly group. All in all, it was an impressive display.

After the brief bout was over between the boy and the people he had fought - apparently a group harassing some merchants for some reason - Naruto gave a slow clap as he swung down to greet him. He may not know much of the language, but body language and facial expressions tended to be nearly universal.

He greeted the other boy in the land's native language as he landed, as well as a proclamation of it being impressive. The people gave him a look, obviously knowing he was not from around here. Luckily the boy seemed talented in more than just fighting as he not only recognized the accent he was using - one that originated in English - he also spoke it fairly well. "Thanks!" He said rather exuberantly, "That was an impressive landing. I have not seen anyone besides me do that. I'm Sinbad." He grinned and held out his hand in greeting.

Naruto took it, giving a smile of his own, "Naruto," he returned.

The exchange lasted barely any longer than that as Sinbad was distracted by one of the women in the group he had saved expressing her gratitude. He took note of the smile his face took on. It was one he recognized as being charming. That said quite a bit about his character on its own.

After a few quick words he didn't understand to the girl, Sinbad briefly turned back to him, "A pleasure to meet you. I gotta go now, but I hope to see you again."

With that, the teen took off. Naruto took this as his cue to leave. He'd gathered enough information to know there wasn't anything of particular interest or danger here. None of the warriors seemed particularly dangerous and there didn't seem to be some huge deal going on, underground or otherwise.

He returned to the guild with this news and was waved off to the library with instructions to look at a map of a town called Magnolia and orders to plan an assault. It seemed they were approaching a big part in their plan. And with the trust to plan it, he could potentially give himself an opportunity to escape. Dependent, of course, on the strength of their opponents.

He didn't particularly need or even really want to escape Tartaros at the moment. It still had quite a lot he could learn from after all. Unfortunately, he had to look to the future. There would be few times more perfect to escape Tartaros and possibly even destroy it to keep them from pursuing him. The loss of opportunity to create alliances or learn from the members and library would be disappointing but necessary.

Regardless, the demons, barring Silver and Seilah, weren't terribly fond of his presence outside of specific uses they saw him having. Even then most barely tolerated him. Plus, Silver was already dead and a slave to another. He had little will of his own to live aside from revenge. That would not be a beneficial alliance.

As for Seilah, he liked her well enough but she was more loyal to Kyoka, loathe as he was to admit it. There was also the matter of his suspicions of her being controlled, or at least influenced in some way. Having an ally like that was dangerous and something he didn't need. So between now and the assault he either had to come up with a way to break whatever was influencing her or ensure she was killed. He'd prefer she live and ally herself with him but he wasn't that optimistic.

As for the library, it held much he had yet to read, even if there was a significant amount that was fiction. If he could, it would be highly advantageous to find a way to seal the entire library or at least significant portions of it.

Luckily, Miroku still had some use in teaching Fuinjutsu. She had yet to teach him all she knew and they had only recently started on seals tailored to combat demons. Hopefully she had something up her sleeves to break the hold of control a demon might have. If not, he would have to quickly figure something out or hope she was far more versatile in regards to divine Fuinjutsu than traditional. She was quite good, just not very creative or able to see the possibilities.

She had many pieces, just not much creativity on how to put those pieces together to create something new.

Turning his attention away from the treasonous thoughts and to the map in front of him, he put his tactical skill to use. Mard Geer hadn't given him any information on what their opponents capabilities were. He assumed Mard Geer would have the Demon Gates off doing their own thing and taking on the biggest threats.

So he eliminated all the Demon Gates from his plans, only taking into consideration the best choke points of the town comparatively to where their opponents headquarters was. He also considered the idea of using hostages from the town. He dismissed it quickly, realizing that it may work, but he needn't handicap their opponent overly much.

It took barely half an hour to assign the different grunts to the choke points to best effect in addition to who would be long range support, reinforcements, and who stayed in Tartaros in case the enemy breached the guild. Perhaps he should've built in contingencies for the enemy anticipating their arrival there, but he felt that amount of detail was unnecessary. If it happened, it happened. He would benefit regardless.

Memorizing it, he turned and marched back to his sanctuary. He needed to get Miroku to accelerate her lessons on Fuinjutsu.

-o0o-

After some time travelling over the country he had met Sinbad, they finally crossed the sea to the continent that was Tartaros' main target. Or what he assumed was their main target from the disproportionate number of books about the place. This was the place magic was supposedly from. Or the place with the most knowledge of it. He didn't much care for the specifics.

There would be people of similar strength to the Demon Gates here. He was confident in his stealth, but some unforeseen factor could get him caught like it had with Toph and Miroku - he still hadn't figured out how the hell she had done that.

He was stronger now, likely on par with most Jonin, but the Demon Gates were still _at least_ a tier above him. On the plus side, Miroku did know how to break a demonic possession. He had learned the method and tweaked it to be more powerful and specific, feeling that if Seilah was indeed being influenced, that power would be incomparable to what Miroku had dealt with. In addition, he felt it wasn't exactly a possession that was going on. Just something that was screwing with the woman's sense of self.

He felt his modifications would work. The theory, at least from what he and Miroku knew, worked fine on paper. Whether there would be some confounding variable he had yet to see would be the deciding factor on its success. Now the only thing left to do was wait until the assault on Magnolia was close, and convince Seilah to let him paint the seal on her body.

Typically that was done after tying down and paralyzing the possessed. He could not do that to someone as powerful as Seilah. It was possible he could slip a powerful poison into her food but he didn't know if she could detect that, if it would even affect her, or any other number of variables - so that was risky at best.

He had originally wanted to find a way to graft the seal onto her in an instant. That, however, had a number of problems he couldn't fix at his level of skill. Compacting it enough, for one, and transferring the seal from scroll to body just to start.

Hopefully convincing her wouldn't be difficult. She didn't _quite_ trust him, but she at least enjoyed his presence enough to know that he often had interesting views and things to talk about.

It wouldn't be long before their assault on Magnolia. In that time he would prepare every contingency to escape.

-o0o-

Mavis Vermillion was stressed. It was a rather uncommon thing for the normally cheerful woman, though it had become more commonplace in recent weeks. Someone who had been all but dead shouldn't have had many worries. She, however, in her love for her guild had put her body in a sort of stasis to be awoken in a time of great need.

She couldn't bear the thought of just staying like that for years, though. Especially when she considered how uninformed she would be of the changes in the state of the world. So she had developed a way to become a spirit, so to speak, that only members of her guild could see or sense with ease. She hadn't spent much of that time mingling with her guild. She only had limited time to be in that state, after all, so when she was 'awake,' she would check on her guild from the shadows and wander.

However, the past few months had been somewhat hectic - especially in recent weeks. So much so that she had revealed herself to her guild and started helping them out on occasion. A little strategic advice to win a continent wide contest to boost morale and standing, a little playfulness to promote the air of positivity she loved. Little things like that.

Things had not gone well in those following months. She had expected challenges that would put her guild members in life threatening situations. Knew it was guaranteed even. After all, the life of a mage, even if not as life threatening as in her time, was still a dangerous life to live.

Her children had grown well and with that new strength came arrogance, however minor. They'd gone on a crusade against the newly returned and active Tartaros. They had returned and destroyed the magic council and then proceeded to go after retired members. They had seen this pattern and resolved to protect the few former members of the council that were left. Divided, they had gone to protect them. Only one team successfully protected a former council member. The others were dead before many teams even arrived.

There were only two to encounter Tartaros members.

The two younger Strauss siblings had gone together.

The other team consisted of the caged form of E.N.D.; Natsu, his exceed; Happy, the young Child of Stars; Lucy, the Wind Dragon's child; Wendy, and her exceed familiar; Carla.

The two Strauss siblings had apparently run into a demon who could control them. They hadn't been able to do much, only surviving because the Demon had deemed them too pathetic to eliminate. She did, however, have her suspicions of one of them becoming an unwitting pawn.

The team of five, on the other hand, had run into significant trouble. Trouble that ended in Natsu and Lucy's - supposed - death and severely injuring Wendy to the point she was drifting in and out of consciousness. She was only now starting to recover with help from the artificial Sky God Slayer.

Apparently the body of the one Natsu had defeated after quite a bit of trouble - Jackal - had started a suicide bomb technique. Happy had attempted to take the body into the sky to detonate it outside the town, but the Demon's body had been trapped. Happy's paws had been burnt and slashed badly from touching it, forcing Natsu to cover those closest to him - Wendy and her exceed. Lucy had apparently attempted to call on her spirits for help but by then it had been too late.

The only silver linings - loathe as she was to call them that - was the fact that Wendy and the exceeds had brought back the Zodiac Keys the Child of Stars had. The other was that they had succeeded in protecting the retired council member who had subsequently given them information on what Tartaros was most likely after.

Face - a weapon built by those old fool's on the council that had the potential to wipe out all magic on the continent. A weapon that was protected by magical bindings on former members of the council that only the chairman knew the identity of.

Following that new information Makarov - her old friend's descendant and current Master of Fairy Tail - had sent out two of their best to protect and talk to the former Chairman - Erza and Mirajane.

As for Natsu's supposed death, there was no chance E.N.D. had died for good, but she didn't know what had happened to him. It was possible that Zeref had decided to take his brother but that was unlikely. He could've done it before now if he wanted to take his creation back. Two percent chance at best.

There was also the chance Acnologia had taken to being subtle enough to avoid being recognized by the survivors and taken him. Very unlikely, one percent.

Tartaros was another possibility, but they tended to work alone in their upper tiers. Though it was still more likely than Zeref intervening. Eight percent chance.

Of course there were other higher powers that could've found interest in E.N.D. Whether by chance or future plans. Fifty percent chance merely for the fact of all the different parties that could do so.

The last thirty nine percent was split between E.N.D. becoming so exhausted he returned to his book form to rest, had broken free from his entrapment, or another unknown factor.

The loss of E.N.D. was regrettable as such a powerful potential enemy unaccounted for always was. Unfortunately, it had to be put out of her mind. Her guild didn't have the manpower to look for him. Neither were they ready to know what and who exactly E.N.D. was.

Adding onto her stress was what had been happening during these events. While the dark guild's associated with Tartaros had been disappearing - likely Tartaros' own doing - more had been popping up, more confident with the magic council in disarray and the King of Fiore falling ill. That last one had also led to some skirmishes along the borders of Fiore.

The King's daughter had taken up post as Queen, but she was young, inexperienced, and not respected. She was more knowledgeable about magic than her father and a smart girl, but that could only extend peace so far. Not to mention the fact that she seemed averse to taking a husband. That could turn some neighboring kingdoms on the fence to hostile if they took a rejection badly. Even if a rejection was peppered with sweet words.

Fiore was starting to be seen as weakened by the other countries of Ishgar. A war now would be terrible. Not only would her children get caught up in it, but the whole continent would likely be dragged into it. That couldn't happen. Not only for her children's sake, but for all of the continent. War was a terrible thing she wished no one to experience.

In addition, foreign powers were likely watching. They wouldn't be able to face great enemies should war cover the continent. And it was coming. She didn't know when or by whom, but any mage of her skill could tell the world was starting to move. Big changes were just beyond the horizon.

Her most immediate stress, though, was Tartaros. She knew the Etherious Demons would bear down on them soon. They had all but declared war on them and the master of Tartaros at least knew that E.N.D. was connected to her guild in some way. She could only guess they had even left in the first place to search for some of Zeref's artifacts. They were obsessed with him by design after all.

She knew from experience his artifacts were difficult to find at the best of times, even in Fiore, and that he hadn't left too many outside of Ishgar - excluding his Alvarez Empire of course and the Etherious Demons would not be welcomed there. Hopefully they hadn't found anything truly nasty or problematic while searching.

Regardless, she had a bad feeling ever since Erza and Mira left. Something had happened to them. She could feel it.

But she couldn't just send anyone else to check on them. If they had been dealt with, Tartaros could be in the area and knowing her children, if they thought that, they would go after them alone - regardless of the odds against them.

Mira and Erza were strong. She could trust them to hold out until Tartaros arrived at Fairy Tail.

-o0o-

Naruto observed Kyoka torturing one of the prisoners they'd taken after that retired magic council chairman had drugged her and her companion. He had briefly checked on the white haired one who had been taken to that crazy bunny doctor and stuck in one of those tubes before coming here. He had sensed something similar to the demons deep within the woman. He didn't think it was from modifications the doctor had made. Was it her magic? He had shrugged, deciding it didn't matter. He couldn't ask her and if whatever the doctor was doing backfired, all the better for his escape.

The young woman being tortured had deep red hair, scarlet really, and had been stripped of any clothing. It was one of the few methods he'd seen Kyoka use that he approved of. Stripping people of clothing gave them a sense of vulnerability and despair that tended to get them to spill information more quickly. Of course he figured Kyoka had done it more to see the product of her whip strikes but that was irrelevant.

Unfortunately for Kyoka, this prisoner seemed quite accustomed to pain and didn't seem terribly bothered at being nude. Beyond that, it seemed the woman truly didn't have the information she was being tortured for. This Jellal seemed to be important to her, but also an elusive man. Apparently he was the last key that needed destroyed to unlock some weapon called Face.

He cared little for that. Learning about what seemed to be a destructive weapon of epic proportions did - even if he had no desire to use it. He wished to study it, perhaps take it if he could and use it if he were ever in a tight spot.

That being said, he had some distaste for utterly useless torture. He derived some pleasure from others suffering a small degree, usually in battle or an actual torture session, but he took particular offense to Kyoka and her methods.

Which is why he decided to come into the room uninvited. Kyoka whipped her head around to sneer at him. He cut her off before she could begin. "The woman obviously doesn't have the information you want," he said, watching how her face twisted further in hate. He did so love annoying people. "Besides, even if she knew his last location, who would be stupid enough to hide away in the same place. They'd certainly be on the move."

Kyoka snarled. "Be grateful I don't just rip you to shreds, boy. I don't see why Mard Geer-sama sees you as worth the trouble you cause. When you make a mistake, you _will_ die. _Painfully._ I'll make sure of it personally."

Naruto brushed off the threat easily. It would indeed be painful if she did, even with his high pain tolerance. Despite how much he despised her methods, that ability of hers to adjust sensitivity of touch to make even a light brush painful was impressive. She wouldn't get to that point. He would make no mistakes during his escape because he couldn't afford to.

"Perhaps I should tell Mard Geer of this then?" he said airily, "That one of his pets is wasting its time and is merely entertaining their vices. He doesn't seem to appreciate that," he said and saw Kyoka stiffen and pale ever so slightly. Mard Geer may hate humans, but he was fairly indiscriminate in his punishments.

Kyoka recovered from her slight stupor and glared, "So you say we should kill the prisoner?"

Naruto shook his head, idly noticing the hint of fear and further defiance that entered the prisoner's eyes. "No, she can be useful in other ways. Other information. Your stagnant fashion of asking the same inane question is useless."

He could practically hear the bird-woman's teeth grinding. He withheld a pleased smirk.

"You think you can get anything useful from her, human? We care little for anything but the location of Jellal. He is the key. You know nothing of what it will bring!" she hissed out. "You should try, though. Go to Mard Geer after you're done to present your pitiful findings. Perhaps he'll finally see how useless you are."

She stomped out of the room, seething in rage and slamming the door behind her. He noted how she even left the viewing room. Perfect.

He finally turned to meet the eyes of the prisoner. Her eyes were still defiant, but now there was something else in there. Confusion and - pity? Something like that at least. He could use that if he played his cards right.

"So what's your name?" He asked in as casual manner as he could. It was a bit too casual, he knew after saying it, considering her position. It seemed he still didn't have the nuances of how people typically communicated.

Luckily the woman also seemed a bit odd and ignored his manner of speech. Though she did ignore his question, and stared at him intently, "What are you doing with them?"

"Hmm," he hummed as he glanced across the woman's injuries. Most were only red marks that were turning into some ugly purple bruises. A fair few were bleeding, though not much. He should treat those. He unsealed his some disinfectant as he answered her, "Sometimes you must do things you don't want to to survive."

The woman didn't look surprised by the suddenly appearing disinfectant, though he did see recognition. He went to treat her injuries and she tensed but didn't object. She just stared at him. He decided to repose his question from earlier, "So your name?" he asked, then added as an afterthought, "You're the first human I've met in a while. Some sense of normalcy would be nice."

Her eyes widened and her pity - empathy he corrected himself - became more easily read. "Erza Scarlet," she whispered. "And you?" she asked.

"Yuurei," was his reply. He wasn't going to give his name to a potential enemy. Even if she did have his appearance, those were unreliable when tracking someone. Even names were, unless they were uncommon like his. Despite rarely giving his name out, he didn't want to slip up and have it cost him.

Besides, he rarely showed his actual face when stopping for supplies. Subtle changes at the least - always hiding his whisker-like marks. Those were a feature unique and easily able to be tracked.

As he was treating a particularly large gash near her chest, his eyes strayed ever so slightly northwest of the gash. He quickly refocused. Odd. That hadn't happened in years. He hadn't had his attention torn from any task he set himself to - barring his thoughts - since he was six or so.

He ignored it, tucking it to the back of his mind for later contemplation. "The only other person I've seen recently is your friend, the white haired girl," he said and at that Erza jerked, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Where is she?! Is she okay?!" Erza shouted frantically, struggling against her chains.

"Calm down," he said soothingly, waving his hands in a placating manner, "She's fine." This did calm her as she stopped struggling, still staring intently for more information. He obliged, "I believe they are attempting to turn her into a demon," he saw her start to shake and he continued quickly, "I don't think it will work like they intend. She has something that will combat it or help her recover."

Erza sagged in relief, seeming to know what he was talking about. With that settled, she went back to their previous conversation, "Why don't you escape then? You seem to be trusted enough to walk around unsupervised. Couldn't you escape?"

He laughed, putting some bitterness into it, "I am good, but I could not evade them for the time it would take to become good enough to fend them off," that was a lie. It was only a 50-50 chance that he'd be caught and slain.

Regardless, the statement had its intended effect as Erza relaxed most of the guard she still had up. "I could help you. My whole guild could."

He cast an amused smirk up at her, "Your current position does not give me much confidence in that statement," he said dryly. She reddened at her restraints being brought up.

"We will triumph over them!" she declared, as if it was a foregone conclusion. Naruto raised a brow and shook his head. He would help them as best he could in terms of setting up bad strategy to take advantage of, but there was no guarantee they would come out on top.

"Well it's good to have a high morale. Keep it up. You will need it. We are nearing Fairy Tail."

With that last bit of hope delivered and discreetly weakening her bonds, Naruto left, making the last of his own preparations. His departure from Tartaros would have to be perfect.

And explosive. Very explosive.

-o0o-

It was only a few hours later when they were nearing visual range of Fairy Tail that Naruto was caught off guard for the first time in awhile. And it had nothing to do with anything he'd dealt with in the past few months. It was a remnant of his past in the Elemental Nations, even if it was something he had been attempting to confront.

He had been meditating to calm himself for the coming battle and his escape when he had felt a tug - that was the only way he could describe it - on his mind. As if something was trying to draw his attention.

He had followed the tug, curiosity getting the better of him, and the next thing he knew his eyes were open in a dimly lit hallway. It was flooded and the hallway seemed to have once been brightly colored. Now it was cracked and dull. Out of a cracked window he could see a devastated landscape that was only just recovering from what looked to have been a fire and flood.

The only other prominent features were the two rivers. One was very wide, with raging currents, and red. A smaller one beside it alternated colors with some disturbed parts and rapids. It stayed mostly a deep purple, but he could see strands of gold, red and black interlaced with it. Both mostly ran parallel to each other, barring an instance where there was a small canal letting an insignificant portion of red flow to the smaller one.

Turning his gaze away from the rivers, he looked down the hall. He could feel a presence there. The only presence he could feel in this place. His senses, oddly enough, did not extend beyond this hallway. Sensing anything beyond the hallway was _just_ out of his reach. Much like that metaphor that had to do with names being on the tip of one's tongue.

He walked, getting jumpy for the first time in a while. He wasn't used to not being able to get a good grasp of his surroundings.

The sound of his footsteps echoed ominously and the water at his feet rippled and giggled as he pushed through it. Despite it seeming to be water, he couldn't walk on it and his legs and pants were not getting wet.

This place was bizarre.

He took another step and suddenly he was in a large, dim chamber. He hadn't seen any indication he had neared such a thing, let alone stepped into the middle of it. The walls stretched upwards forever, the only thing breaking the monotony being the opening of the hallway behind him and large, cylindrical polls in front of him forming a gate with a piece of paper keeping it together - a prison.

It was then he realized where he was. Or at least the concept of where he - his mind, whatever - was. He was in the seal. A meeting place where he could speak to the Kyuubi.

Eagerness bubbled in him, even if it didn't show. He had been trying to accomplish this for so long - especially since he had truly gotten a taste of it when fighting Natsuhi. Though he was a bit miffed. He had been trying for months and only now, when he wasn't trying, he had gotten here? Had the Kyuubi done it or helped him along? That was really the only logical explanation.

Perhaps it would answer why soon.

He took a step towards the gate when nothing happened for over a minute. He took a few more until he was only a few feet away. That was when a melodious voice rang out, laughing, and hiding an edge of utter malice. It was difficult to hold back the shudder that tried to wrack his body.

"Brave, aren't we?" It questioned in its surprisingly feminine voice, "Stepping towards danger when you know well who lies there."

The second it finished its statement, it appeared. Not as the massive fox he had been told and read about, but as a beautiful woman leaning against one of the giant bars.

No, he amended after a moment of observation. Beautiful wasn't quite the right word. She had a sharpness to her features, a tilt to her body and smile that he recognized. It was more akin to that of a seductress - like his sensei from back in Konoha, Mara Jade. Beautiful, yes, but most would coin them as being sexy and - more importantly- incredibly dangerous.

Not to mention her body was too perfect. Other worldly. No human could maintain such an appearance after being trapped in a cell for over a decade.

Her hair was the color of blood, as were her sharp, almost claw-like nails. Her eyes were also red and slit ever so slightly like a fox's. Lush eyelashes, sharp edges to her face - she looked much like how idealized royalty might look. She wore a blood red Yukata with black accents and small foxes with a single slit running up to her mid thigh

Naruto, even knowing the dangerous territory he had waded into and how he put little stock into appearances subjectively, was nearly enamored. Her beauty was captivating, similar to how he might describe Seilah and her words. Only the fact that he had spent time with Seilah and his natural paranoia kept him from stepping foot into a trap that her words set.

As it was, it only made him shiver in fear, admiration, and put up his guard entirely. This was the most intimidated he could remember feeling. Only the helplessness that he knew to have felt, but could not quite recall as a toddler with no training could compare. And in terms of raw power, she easily topped the list of those he had ever met. Even the Hokage could not compare - granted, of course, the old man had never tried to intimidate him too much.

Impressively, he regained his voice enough to respond without a stutter in a scant few seconds, "I also know my seal well enough. You can't kill me. Not with the current state of the seal."

She laughed, almost mockingly and he saw shadows behind her move. Tails, he realized after a moment, and matching fox ears on her head. "What confidence you have in your knowledge of seals! Even with barely any formal training, you've still got the confidence of the Uzumaki. Just like your despicable mother."

He didn't let the small twinge that provoked get to him. "That's right," he said airily. "Us Uzumaki have become a prison for you over the last few years," he saw her face twist in anger and killing intent start to leak, so he quickly amended before he got too much on her bad side, "Perhaps you would like to break free?"

The killing intent started to fall and her face fell back into that confident, amused smirk, "Oh? You know you will die if you release me and I know well you desperately cling to life and survival. How would you intend to release me and survive?"

He started to pace, clasping his hands behind his back. "I will find a way. I have a great interest in Fuinjutsu. I will gain enough mastery in it to figure out how to free you at some point. Besides, my mother survived. That is," he said turning to meet her eyes, "If I can survive that long."

"I see," she said. "So you want my power?" she seemed almost disappointed. As if he was a predictable toy. He supposed that after being imprisoned so long, that would be a running concept of what the containers wanted.

"No," he corrected, then backtracked a bit as she perked up slightly, "Well, yes, but only if my life is in danger and there is no other option." Her amused smirk was back now, probably at how he was concerned with his life, his mortality. "Power is not what I want. You can probably guess what I want. You seem to know a thing or two about me."

She laughed, pinning him with a piercing stare, "I suppose I do. It is knowledge you want. A teacher even, correct?" He nodded and she laughed again, "I have not known many to be as obsessed as you with much of anything, let alone the acquirement of knowledge," she hummed in thought, dragging a finger down one of the prison's bars.

That, Naruto thought, was not quite right. That was part of it, yes, but it was more to do with improving himself and exploring the unknown - to him at least. He was not yet at a point he could reliably venture into much territory few, if any, had explored. That she would say that showed him she only had a general idea of his character. That was relieving. At least he had that tiny advantage of her not knowing him inside and out.

Then she snapped her fingers, drawing his attention to her, "I have never taught a human before," she said in contemplation, "Well besides teaching the lot of you to fear me. Perhaps this will be an interesting experience." She turned her eyes on him in a glare now, "I expect you will hang on every word when I teach?"

The blonde nodded mutely. Of course he'd try to make sure she wasn't lying too, so that would add a layer of how much he paid attention.

She nodded, "Very well, I will teach you regularly in what you desire. In return you will search for a way to free me without killing yourself after gaining enough base knowledge in Fuinjutsu," Naruto felt elation spread through him. This was a far more reasonable deal than he had expected. She continued before it could get too far, "You will also help me loosen this seal. It is all too boring with nothing to do in here."

He considered that, before deciding it was reasonable. He would stop before he undid it enough that she'd be able to escape. "Very well, I can do that if you show me how."

She smiled, satisfied with his willingness, "I will teach you to do some other things that will please me. Nothing that will harm you irreparably or for long, of course. You won't even be injured by those things much," she then gave a suggestive smile that reminded him of Mara Jade. It was one she would give whenever she wanted to mess with him in any manner. "You may even enjoy some of them," she winked.

Definitely Mara Jade-esque.

He considered this, not liking the ambiguity of the demand. He didn't exactly have a choice if he wanted to make this deal, though. Plus there was always the very real chance she was lying. Or at least using misdirection. She was a Kitsune after all.

"I shall accept that as well as long as you make a list at a later date that I can agree on. Do we have a deal now?" He asked and received a borderline sinister smile.

"But of course, oh Ally of Demons," she said with an almost taunting quality.

He ignored it in favor of turning his gaze to his surroundings, "So how do I leave? And how will I contact you?"

With his head turned he failed to notice the Kyuubi's mischievous smile, "Oh don't worry about that. I'll take care of it. Have fun escaping those posers!"

Before he could do anything else, he was thrown out of the chamber and he could hear her laughter echoing as he was thrown back into his body.

Violently. And now he had a dull throb in his head.

Damn that vixen.

Oh well, he could use this time to rid himself of the dull throb. And to contemplate what she had meant in her last statement. The Demons of Tartaros weren't true Demons?

And now that he thought about it, something had been odd about her chakra aside from it being flat out different than anything he'd ever felt barring the Ichibi. He had been paying too much attention to not being taken for too much of a fool that he hadn't focused on it.

That was something to remember when next they met.

-o0o-

The Kyuubi stood contemplative as she eyed the spot she had just forced her container from. He was an interesting one. More so than his mother at least. And he was crazier and even more willing to mingle or at least learn about Demons than that bitch, Mito.

And he was far more wary than his mother was, despite the risks he was willing to take. His mother liked to ignore her for the most part aside from a few conversations over the years. At this age she had been abrasive and willing to take risks, but mostly set in her views and took risks more because of some arrogance and unwillingness to back down from a challenge - something that seemed to be ingrained in the Uzumaki's genes.

The boy was far more flexible, willing to bend his views as long as he was presented with reliable evidence. Also contrary to Kushina, he cared little for other humans aside from some select few she had seen. That old dog who had occasionally mentored that pest, Kushina, his former sensei, possibly a couple he had met on his way to this continent - including that poser and corpse, and a couple of those damned Uchiha. Even then, most he met outside Konoha he would have little hesitation throwing away. It was more that he looked forward to what they could become rather than the people themselves.

Though for the few Uchiha he had befriended, she could admit that they seemed more reasonable than the rest of their damn bloodline had when she was still free. _Especially_ that _fucker_ Madara.

The fox woman took a deep breath, calming herself. That anger was useless now. If she ever came across that bastard when searching the afterlife or that twisted fuck who hijacked her mind as he pulled her out of Kushina, then that fury would be useful.

Things were starting to look up. With Naruto so willing to look at things in ways others hadn't and his fair amount of disregard for potential consequences of her release - for now at least - her chances of escape were looking quite good. She had even gotten some mild amusement from how he acted and the glimpses of his life she had gotten.

Perhaps she would not kill him once she escaped - or was released she supposed. He hadn't chosen it after all, she was fair enough to admit that. And he was even willing to help her escape. This half of her anyway.

Even if he wouldn't outright release her now, she could at least understand his wish to live. And she couldn't just offer him the same thing she had Kushina. Not only because she was only one half of her whole, but because Naruto was not desperate and would not trust her.

Speaking of Kushina, the fragment of the Juubi wondered where she was and how she was coping with her new foxy features. She snickered, hoping she was suffering and annoyed by it.

Aside from that, the descendant of the Great Priestess of Demon Country seemed to hold a vested interest in the boy. After seeing how he was called out, she had no doubt the woman had a vision involving her container. And from the glimpse she had seen, an unplanned one. After a certain age, they stopped having unprepared visions through training and regular viewings if she remembered correctly.

For the woman to have one, the Shinto Gods must have directly imposed it upon her. Very odd as those old idiots rarely lowered themselves to touch the mortal realm. Aside from the unconscious influence they had imposed millennia ago to help their followers occasionally. And even that was exceedingly rare, especially in any meaningful way.

She had been bored for so long. Hopefully Naruto would be able to provide some entertainment. From what she had seen, he probably would. Especially with his involvement and plans with those posers.

Zeref, she admitted, could make impressive specimens. These had just deteriorated from their peak of power. She supposed compared to most humans they were still impressive, but she knew from experience they paled in comparison to the best of the best humans had to offer, loathe as she was to admit it.

She would relish in a child's ability to take advantage of and destroy them. It was a bit petty and a poor shot at Zeref himself, but she still relished in whatever shot she could take at him. Stupid, arrogant human.

Even if he wasn't quite human anymore.

-o0o-

After his rather interesting first encounter with his inner demon, Naruto decided to really start preparing for his escape from Tartaros.

That's why he was sat cross legged midway between where Erza was being kept and her friend was in the tank room. Here, he was spreading his senses, ready to get a feel for the battle as it would progress. Around him lay three soldiers he had taken to supposedly use to communicate new information to troops. Now they lay dead.

Several minutes earlier he had sensed that pyromaniac; Jackal, the beast; Tempester, and someone new and powerful emerge from the tank room. It seemed what Kyuubi had implied was correct. These demons were artificial. At least partially so if they could casually recreate utterly annihilated bodies as Jackal and Tempester had been.

The new magic signature, he noted, was not as powerful as any of the Demon Gates. It did, however, seem to be fairly well controlled. Tempester as well, while recognizable, seemed different in some way.

He ignored that. They were leaving to other parts of the ship. He could do little about it for now.

The doctor was in front of the white haired teen's body now, presumably intent on modifying her.

Meanwhile, Erza had broken free of her restraints and fought with Kyoka's octopus-like pet, Yakdoriga. She was on the verge of defeating it. What a nasty surprise that would be for that damned woman, he thought with a smirk.

Shortly after that, he felt an explosion go off in the guild below Tartaros, destroying the entire thing. Interestingly, none of the people in the building were killed. If his eyes were open, he would've blinked in surprise. Many magic signatures were now approaching the flying Cube.

Except he could only feel three to any real extent, all but one of those three were weak. The others were all blended together. How curious. They had a way to transport their troops in such a discreet manner? What a useful skill.

At that moment something changed in the Cube, pulling the invaders to the Cube, sending them flailing.

A sudden rise in magical presence brought his attention back to the doctor and Erza's friend. And now that he focused, the magic she had was different from the Demonic part he had sensed within her. In fact, both were distinctly different from what the Demons of Tartaros used, though the Demonesque part he had sensed in the white haired girl was close.

It was similar to the sense he had gotten when he had first sensed Tempester. He knew it was not chakra and called it magic later. Now he was not too sure. While both seemingly derived from the same source, as there were a number of similarities, it was different enough to call his attention. Were these two different sources of energy?

He wondered what the nuances of them were and their advantages and disadvantages comparatively.

He snapped himself out of it. This was a time of battle. He could experiment with that at a later date.

Turning his attention back to the ship, he noticed the boarding troops had spread out. The white haired girl had easily defeated the doctor and Seilah was now quickly approaching her position. Erza, meanwhile, had just met up with Kyoka.

That was his cue. The Demon Gates closest to him were occupied and the white haired girl was quite powerful, having engaged Seilah in what was equal footing at the moment. He frowned at that as he got up and ran towards them. How was she resisting Seilah's Macro? Did it not work on those with the same or similar energy source as her or was it at least weakened by that?

A weakness he was unlikely to be able to exploit. He hadn't really gotten into the transformation to a Demon before he stopped it after all. Hopefully he wouldn't have to find a weakness in the first place though. The seals he had developed with Miroku should knock her out, identify for him if she was being controlled in some manner, and strip that control if she was.

Luckily, Erza's friend should be enough of a distraction for him to get his seals set up.

-o0o-

Wendy had been feeling a great deal of guilt and grief since Natsu and Lucy had been killed. Objectively, she knew there was nothing she could've done. Everyone in the guild had assured her of that and Sherria had too once she had arrived.

Despite their reassurances, she couldn't help but feel guilty. It was survivor's guilt, she knew. Grandeenia hadn't focused solely on how to heal physical wounds, that was just their main focus. They hadn't focused much on psychological wounds and how to heal them but she could certainly identify the major ones. She also knew psychological 'injuries' typically took far longer to heal than any physical wound. Unfortunately she didn't have time.

Her guild was under attack _now_. She'd been sent along with Sherria to the enemy base after Cana had put them into her cards for Happy, Carla, and Pantherlily to carry. So she did something she knew was unhealthy.

Instead of wallowing in and expressing her sorrow, she had turned it into the burning need for justice for her friends. And with that burning need for justice came an unconscious anger the likes of which her gentle soul had never felt.

And so when they had landed and started the fighting she was more vicious than she had ever been. When Erza had burst through the shell of the Cube with one of the leaders of Tartaros, she had to restrain herself from joining the fight. Instead she followed Erza's advice to infiltrate the enemy base of operations and see if there was a way to remotely destroy Face.

So she, Sherria, Happy, and Carla had taken the fight to them, even if Happy and Carla couldn't fight. They could both fly and Happy especially needed closure as much as she did.

Soon after they entered the enemy fortress they had encountered some grunts. Sherria had been preparing to fight them since she was still a little injured.

Instead of waiting for Sherria, she had taken the initiative and started tearing into the soldiers. Their armor crumpled beneath her fists and the only thing keeping them from being torn apart was their teamwork and odd magic they possessed.

Even then, once Sherria joined in, they were quickly dealt with. Sherria was staring at her in concern. Her actions had been far more reckless and aggressive than what she would normally be comfortable with, especially when still recovering. She didn't cave though. This was an enemy that wouldn't relent. They couldn't either.

Sherria reached out to touch her arm comfortingly. She tried to give her a grateful smile. It was a bit more twisted than what she wanted to show, she knew. She just couldn't bring herself to really smile at the moment. Luckily, her pink haired friend understood and merely squeezed her arm reassuringly.

They continued through the minor labyrinth of a ship, only encountering one more quartet of patrolling guards. Soon after they were dealt with, they found a grand room within which held no one. The only thing in the room was a countdown.

Some quick investigation by Sherria revealed that it was a countdown until Face activated and that it had been activated manually.

Before they could try to figure out a way to turn it off, a menacing presence entered the room. Turning to face it simultaneously, they saw something straight out of a ghost story.

It was a skeleton with a bronze helmet and a flaring neckline from a cape that was partially checkered and the rest a flowing black. In his hand he held a staff with three clanking rings on the end.

It chuckled. "How bold to send children here."

Sherria tugged on her arm now, "This is getting dangerous, Wendy. We can't waste time here."

Another chuckle - not the skeleton's - filled the room after that statement. "I think it's already dangerous, especially for two little girls and cats."

Wendy could read the fear that ran over her companions' faces. They all knew these opponents were terribly dangerous. But along with fear, she saw resolve in Sherria and anger in Happy. And that fueled the normally reserved, if cheerful girl.

She caught the countdown in the corner of her eye, noting there was only 40 minutes left on it. So she ignored the urge she had to fight for now. It would take too long even if they did win. They needed to get away and shut down Face.

Her eyes met Sherria's and they both had the same thought. Inhaling deeply, they prepared their magic. Both their enemies started to react, but it wouldn't be fast enough.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!"

"Sky God's Bellow!"

They yelled out as wind blasted from their mouths, hers with a blue tint and Sherria's black. They whipped their heads around, throwing up debris to cover their retreat.

They turned and ran towards the nearest exit. Then their senses screamed at them and they dove to opposite sides, avoiding the slash of the staff-like weapon the skeleton held. They scowled at it.

It could do no more as a hand shot through where its skull had been, avoided only by the being turning to dust for a moment before reforming.

"Gray!" Wendy exclaimed in recognition.

"Go," he said, putting his fist on his open palm in his opening stance, "I'll take this guy. You two need to shut down Face."

They nodded, not arguing with him as they booked it down the corridor. Before they left, Wendy could hear the odd skeleton man make an even odder remark, "You're something of Silver's, I believe."

She ignored it. It was none of her concern. Spotting a window, she and Sherria ran for it, hoping to escape and shut down Face.

Moments before they got there, the other Demon they had faced popped out in front of them, giggling creepily. Sherria put on the brakes, wary of what he could.

Wendy continued forward, heedless of the danger. The Demon's giggling suddenly cut off as he let out an undignified screech. His form slimmed and grew more humanoid, presumably for some sort of attack.

One that never came as Wendy reached him and clenched her hand around his face, "Sky Dragon's Grip!"

Wind burst from her hand in all directions and smashed the monster's body through the small opening of a window. Sherria, true to the genius she was heralded as, took the opening to shoot a Sky God's Bellow at the falling Demon Gate.

It wouldn't knock him out of the fight, they knew, but it would at least get it off their backs as they headed towards Face. They both hopped out of the broken window, grabbing onto Carla and Happy respectively to have them fly out of the floating guild.

-o0o-

Naruto had watched the battle between Seilah and the white haired teenager - Mirajane he thought Erza had called her - with as much interest as he could spare while setting up his seals. She was quite powerful and skilled in combat.

Not to the level and finesse of Itachi, but she was good nonetheless. And the finesse she lacked, she made up for in pure power.

She was odd though - just as he found many magics were odd. Hers allowed her to change forms and each had different powers. It was a terrible disadvantage for anyone with preexisting knowledge of her abilities. It could make her quote predictable. Though perhaps that was being too harsh considering that could be said of many abilities.

Despite his thoughts on it, her power was undeniable. So much so that she had gotten the upper hand on Seilah. Granted Seilah couldn't use her controlling powers on Mirajane for some reason and she didn't seem the type to train excessively to try to cover that weakness.

Though she had some sort of ability that allowed her to throw books at speeds no book should ever reach.

Just as he was putting the finishing strokes on his prepared seals, Seilah's astonished voice rang out, "You absorb Demons?! Is That why Macro doesn't work on you?"

Naruto blinked. So the girl could resist it because she had the ability to absorb Demons. Were her different transformations the result of past Demons she had conquered? What an interesting ability. Magic was so diverse.

When Seilah next spoke it was with great anger, "I order you," she said and Mirajane looked on condescendingly, taunting that it wouldn't work. She went ignored. "Release my limiter!"

And with that power Naruto had never felt from Seilah poured out and she changed before his eyes, skin darkening, horns elongating, and wide eyes turning a disturbing yellow.

He didn't wait any longer on the transformation, slamming his hand into the seal at his feet and pouring chakra into it. Kanji spread across the room towards Seilah, running up her form before she could get her bearings from her transformation. Even without it, the room they were in was dark and she'd be hard pressed to have seen it coming. He had just needed her to stand still for a moment.

He'd have to thank that Mirajane for distracting her to that point. It was good to make allies as much as he could now that his current ones were going to suffer significant damage, if not outright destruction. Not to mention his betrayal of them.

Two acts of treason in under a year, he thought sardonically. Hopefully he wouldn't have to make this a habit.

Dashing from his position in the shadows, he ignored the wary Mirajane, slamming his palms onto Seilah's back to apply paralyzing and power repressing seals. He hadn't originally planned for her to have this much extra power in reserve. Left alone it could've potentially overwhelmed his seal.

Moments later with an elbow thrown back from her and a new pair of bruised - possibly cracked - ribs, Seilah fell unconscious, her transformation slowly retreating.

He sighed in relief at his success. Miroku had only known the theory for that seal. She had never dealt with a Demon as powerful as Seilah.

"Who are you?" the worn out teenager in front of him questioned. He lifted his head, hearing the suspicion in her tone and how she had narrowed her eyes.

"An ally," he replied simply. "I gave a helping hand to your friend, Erza, before the attack started."

Hearing that put her at ease, even if she obviously didn't trust him or his statement alone. His finishing off Seilah probably helped in that regard.

"So what did you do to her?" she inquired, "And what's happening with everyone else?"

He chuckled, trying to seem friendly, "I'm not omniscient. I only know that much of your guild has invaded this place," she perked up noticeably at the good news and he continued, "As for what I did, it's sort of complicated, but she should be out for a few hours at least."

She nodded, even if he could see her hesitance in letting the Demon alone for now. She was distracted from making any more inquiries as they heard footsteps. Turning, she saw Elfman jump down from a ledge above, "Mira-nee!"

"Elfman!" she greeted happily. She hugged him, turning her head to look for the boy who could be no older than Wendy only to find him gone.

She frowned. Hopefully that wouldn't come back to bite her. They did seem to be working towards the same goal at least.

Besides, there were still more enemies to defeat.

-o0o-

Naruto set Seilah down as he came to his and Miroku's predetermined rendezvous area. She was already here, not having to deal with anyone on her way here would make it so no matter what good time he made, she would beat him.

"Well?" she asked expectantly, "What method was necessary? How well did it work? What were the results?" she fired off in rapid succession. She was eager to hear the results of something more powerful than she had ever needed.

He checked the still working kanji that had attached themselves to Seilah to get the final answers to her questions. The results stroked his pride a bit before he tempered it, careful to not let it grow too much.

"I was right," he informed Miroku, "She was being controlled in some way. The seal was successful even if there was a kink in it."

"Go on," she said as her pencil scratched furiously at a scroll.

He sighed, somewhat frustrated. He had other priorities at the moment even if this did interest him. He decided to summarize it, "She had more power than I anticipated so I had to add some repression and paralyzation seals. The method the seal took, even with the extra repression seals, was to turn her own power onto the parasite that had control of her. My chakra was completely unnecessary. It seems like the parasite is buried deeply though, so it is still being destroyed," he paused taking in the only time he had truly seen Miroku excited over these months. Then he continued politely as he was instructed. She'd just be difficult if he wasn't, even in this situation, "Monitor her if you would. I still have things to do before we can escape."

Miroku nodded distractedly, putting her pencil to the side and already examining Seilah almost before he had finished. She started poking around her body to try to feel out any anomalies.

Turning, he set his mind on heading to the library as he spread his senses to get a quick feel of the battlefield. Kyoka had abandoned her fight with Erza, turning tail and running to Mard Geer, and leaving Erza up to that new magic signature he had picked up.

Meanwhile, Keyes was in a stalemate with a familiar magical signature. Similar to Silver's he realized. Probably his son. He put that out of his mind for the time being. It was not a pivotal fight. Silver would likely intervene soon regardless.

Far below the Cube, where the Fairy Tail Guild had been destroyed, he could feel a fierce presence calming itself. A titan. Titanic in its nature, yet tightly controlled. That, he took note, should be avoided at all costs. He also took note of one of the more monstrous - in appearance - members of Tartaros, Franmalth, flickering, on the verge of death, and the many fading magical signatures near the titanic energy source.

Perhaps the monsters magic had something to do with the theft of others considering how many distinct signatures he could feel fading. It would also explain the jumbled mess the monster's magical signature had been.

He could also feel the lab being destroyed by that Mirajane girl. Good on her. He had rigged it to blow in the event it wasn't destroyed - with it the Demons would be able to come back with few to no consequences.

Noting how nothing else of consequence was happening, he hurried to the library as he remotely activated his pre-planted seal to take in all the books in it. It was a large library after all and to get it into one relatively easily carried scroll would take a couple minutes.

He arrived at the library quickly, finding to his displeasure that not all of the books had been subjected to his seal. Some of them had their own protections that could counter the relatively simple seal he had drawn up. Unfortunately he didn't have the time to gather those as well. They would likely not be able to be sealed manually and he couldn't carry books by hand. It was too cumbersome. They would have to be left alone despite likely being some of the more interesting books in this library.

He secured the scroll to his back vertically. It was an awkward fit considering the scroll was only a foot shorter than him, but he made it work without hindering too much of his mobility. With the scroll secured and nothing else of value left in his room, he headed back to where he had left Seilah and Miroku to find a way out. The battle was reaching its climax. He was not ready to be in the middle of a battle that large.

As he was running, sound started to crackle in his head. It soon cleared into a crisp voice. The voice of Mard Geer, introducing himself as the Underworld King. Telepathy, he faintly thought. That was incredible. As he listened to Mard Geer gloat that it hardly mattered who he was as they would not live to see another day, he realized the telepathy was likely to everyone in the battle. Or at least every human. Even more impressive.

As far as he knew, the only people who had accomplished any form of relatively long range, large group telepathy was the Yamanaka clan. And even then it was a closely guarded secret. Even its existence was quite deeply hidden. He had only had it confirmed by Sakumo after he had picked up some minor but suspicious gaps in history books of how certain widespread commands were given mid battle so quickly.

He pushed the thought of telepathy to the back of his mind for now though as he realized Mard Geer was going to unleash some type of attack that would affect the entirety of the Cube. He pushed himself faster to Miroku and Seilah to make sure he was in the safest spot in Cube he could be when it was unleashed.

Then Mard Geer addressed him directly, "And to the child we recruited, you have come to the end of your use. It was amusing watching you struggle but you have failed to meet the expectations we had and your continued resistance and defiance has come to haunt you at last. You will die like the insect you are with these other insects."

Panic set in. Whatever Mard Geer released promised to be quite spectacular. He couldn't escape the Cube now. Not from where he was. But the safe zone he and Miroku had set up was just barely around the corner. Miroku had spent hours painting it with all manner of divine seals she knew to protect the area. Hopefully it would be enough to survive this.

"Alegria," he heard muttered with finality.

Then he felt a shift in Cube's gravity, and winds tore through the hallways. He pushed chakra through his body to augment it and not lose his footing even as red, rubber-like fluid sprang from the walls to try to capture him.

He used his incredible mobility to his advantage, switching from floor to the wall as points to pivot on to avoid grabbing masses of red _stuff._ A few final steps was all it took to hit the wall where the seal to open the entrance of their little hideout was. He tumbled into the room just as a red thing grabbed his ankle. His only consolation was the wall closing behind him fast enough to cut it off before it dragged him out.

* * *

Bit longer than normal but where I wanted to cut it off made it so the next chapter had a decent end point after only like 4,000 words. Anyway thoughts on it are always appreciated.


End file.
